Page pushes South Carolina past Bears, 87-71 - Morgan State University Athletics

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Morgan State Bears had a solid shooting night, but it was rebounding that hurt the Bears against South Carolina tonight.

LaShay Page scored 20 points and the Gamecocks held a 35-22 edge on the boards during a 87-71 win over Morgan State on Friday night at Colonial Life Arena. It was the first meeting between the schools.

Eric Smith had 17 points and Brenton Williams added 14 to help South Carolina improve its record to 2-0.

The Gamecocks shot 52 percent (30-57) from the floor and went 6 for 16 (38 percent) from beyond the arc.

Justin Black matched a career-high by pacing the Bears with 20 points on 9 for 13 shooting. Anthony Hubbard finished with 15 points (7-7 FT) and DeWayne Jackson had 11 points, six assists and five steals.

Morgan State shot 52 percent from the field, but was held to 2 for 13 shooting from 3-point territory and shot 65 percent (13-20) from the free throw line.

The Gamecocks built a 10-point lead at 64-54 when Brenton Williams converted a conventional 3-point play when he was fouled by Donte Pretlow with 11:17 remaining in the contest.

The Bears used a 6-0 run to trim the lead to 65-60, but the Gamecocks answered when Page hit a jumper and Eric Smith nailed a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10 (70-60).

Morgan State (1-3) held a 33-32 lead with 8:25 in the first half before the Gamecocks engineered a 17-5 run. A basket by Brian Richardson gave South Carolina a 38-27 advantage and triggered a timeout by the Bears.

The Bears closed out the half strong as they went into the locker-room trailing 45-41 at the intermission.

Morgan State will travel to face the Liberty Flames on Thursday, November 29 in Lynchburg, Va. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Bear Notes

The last time Justin Black scored 20 points was on Nov. 20, 2010 against LaSalle

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