MORGAN STATE HELD SCORELESS AT NORFOLK STATE, 30-0 - Morgan State University Athletics

Boxscore

NORFOLK, Va. – Morgan State had five turnovers that led to Norfolk State's 27-0 first half lead as the Spartans cruised to a 30-0 victory.

The Spartans handed the Bears their first shutout loss since Sept. 12, 2009 when they were defeated at Akron 41-0.

With the loss the Bears fall to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference. Norfolk State improved to 2-6 in the MEAC and 4-7 overall.

Lack of energy and a sputtering offense led to the Bears fifth straight loss of the season. It marks MSU's longest losing streak since closing out the 2010 season by dropping its last four games.

The Bears seemed powerless to respond to the early turnovers.

The Bears received the opening kickoff, but on the second play of their possession, Spartan defensive lineman Cameron Jude sacked MSU quarterback Robert Council and forced a fumble. NSU linebacker Jamal Giddens pounced on it at the Bears' 4-yard line. Two plays later, Brendon Riddick scored on a 2-yard TD run. The extra point hit the upright, keeping the Spartans' lead at 6-0.

On MSU's next possession, NSU safety Keenan Lambert picked off a third-down pass by Council deep in MSU territory. On the third play of the Spartans' next drive, Flores hit Xavier Boyce for a 16-yard TD pass, putting NSU on top 13-0 at the 11:17 mark of the first quarter.

Council threw his third pick of the game when Deon King returned the interception 15 yards for a touchdown and the 20-0 lead.

NSU extended its lead to 27-0 early in the second quarter. Flores found Derrick Demps behind the defense for a 29-yard touchdown pass to cap a two-play drive, making it 27-0 with 12:46 left in the half.

Despite falling behind by such a large margin in the opening half, the Bears defense managed to have a solid effort against the Spartans.

Council had a rough outing for the Bears as he completed just 4 of 12 passes 38 yards, and was picked off three times, including one that was returned 15 yards by Deon King for a touchdown.

Council was relieved by Seth Higgins who threw for 104 yards on 10 of 23 passing. He also led the Bears ground game with 37 yards on 12 carries.

The Bears defense held NSU to 88 rushing yards, recorded nine tackles for loss and limited the Spartans to a single field goal in the second half.

MSU senior linebacker Allen Stephens led the Bears with 10 tackles, while Christopher Robinson and Demarco Bisbee collected a sack apiece.

The Bears will wrapup the 2012 season Saturday, November 17th at Hughes Stadium against the Hampton Pirates. The game was originally scheduled to take place at Yankees Stadium, but due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the game has been moved back to Morgan State's campus. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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