Gamenotes
Game Dates: Dec. 29, 2012
Opponent: San Diego Toreros
Site: San Diego, Calif.
Game Time: 10:30 p.m. (ET)
Television: N/A
Internet Broadcast: N/A
Radio: Mighty 1090 AM or ESPN 1700 AM
MSU Coach: Todd Bozeman (114-91 - 7th yr)
Websites: MorganStateBears.com/ USDToreros.com
BALTIMORE, Md. — Morgan State will take on the San Diego Toreros in a non-conference matchup at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, California. The Bears will enter the contest looking to bounce back from a loss at Loyola Marymount in which junior guard
Justin Black paced the Bears with 15 points. San Diego (6-8) dropped a 62-59 decision James Madison in the final game of the Vegas Holiday Hoops event on Dec. 23rd.
Bear Bits:
• After opening the season with a 71-point effort in a win against UTSA, the Bears have gone 3-6 while averaging 68 points and 44 percent shooting.
• Morgan State, who shot 67.6 percent from the line last season, continues to have hard times from the stripe … through the first nine games the Bears are shooting 58 percent (132-225 FT).
• The Bears, who held VMI to 9 of 32 from 3-point range, have allowed an average of 75 points and opponents are shooting 33 percent from 3-point territory.
• Morgan State shot a season-high 52.8 percent at South Carolina and a season best 65.0 percent from the stripe, with 11 steals.
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DeWayne Jackson has scored 129 points in nine games and ranks among the MEAC's scoring leaders ranked No. 7 (14.3 ppg).
• One area where the Bears haven't been inconsistent is under the basket. Morgan State ranks No. 3 in the league in total rebounding at 34.9 per game, No. 3 in offensive rebounds at 36.6 and No. 1 in field goal percentage at 45.6.
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Justin Black was just shy of posting a triple-double at Liberty. The junior guard finished with a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points and nine assists.
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Anthony Hubbard is ranked among the top rebounders in the MEAC. The junior guard ranks No. 4 by averaging 7.4 per game.
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Ian Chiles is not only the tallest player in the MEAC (standing at 7-foot-2), the junior is also ranked among the top free throw shooters in the conference and leads the Bears from the stripe. He currently ranks No. 12 by shooting 76.9 (20-26) percent from the line.
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DeWayne Jackson is ranked among the top theft artists in school history. Jackson has collected 140 steals with the Bears steals with the Bears and currently ranks No. 5. Terrence Wright (1992-96) holds the school record with 186 career steals ... Jackson is 48 steals away from becoming the school's new leader.
CALI BOYS
Morgan State has two student-athletes on the roster who are from the state of California.
Thair Heath (pronounced TI-Ear) is a 6-9 forward from Los Angeles. He was a prep standout at Dominguez High where he played basketball and football. Heath earned First-Team All-Conference at San Bernadino Valley College where he averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds.
Rasean Simpson returns to his hometown of San Diego. The 6-5 guard was a four-year letterwinner at Lincoln High where he helped guide the Hornets to a 61-4 overall record between his junior and senior year under coach Jason Bryant.
MORGAN STATE VS. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
Morgan State holds a 2-0 record against Loyola Marymount in school history. The Bears defeated the Lions 81-79 in the 2010-11 season-opener at Gersten Pavilion, and dropped LMU 69-45 at Hill Field House on Dec. 27, 2011.
MORGAN STATE VS. THE WCC
Morgan State is 2-1 vs. the West Coast Conference. The Bears defeated the Loyola Marymount 81-79 in the 2010-11 season-opener at Gersten Pavilion, and dropped LMU 69-45 at Hill Field House on Dec. 27, 2011. MSU was recently defeated 79-62 by the Lions during the LMU Holiday Classic on Dec. 27, 2012.
SERIES RECORD
This is the first meeting between USD and Morgan State.
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
The Toreros welcome back nine veterans -- five starters -- from a squad that posted a 13-18 overall record, finished 6th in the WCC with a 7-9 ledger. Sophomore guard Johnny Dee leads San Diego averaging 14.6 points and is shooting 40 percent from 3-point territory. Senior forward Ken Rancifer is also averaging double-figures (10.3 ppg) and is averaging 4.6 rebounds. Head coach Bill Grier (Oregon '90) enters his sixth season as the Toreros head coach and he currently holds a 74-102 record.
MORGAN STATE TABBED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Morgan State was picked to finish third in the 2012-13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball preseason poll behind Savannah State and Delaware State.
JACKSON AND CHILES EARN PRESEASON HONORS
The conference head coaches and sports information directors selected Morgan State senior
DeWayne Jackson to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team. Junior center
Ian Chiles was selected to the Second Team.
UNFAMILIAR FOES
Morgan State will face six teams this season that the program has never met in its basketball history. The first time opponents are: UTSA, Old Dominion, Holy Cross, South Carolina, Illinois State and San Diego. The Bears do not see a familiar foe until the Nov. 29 matchup at Liberty, their fifth game of the season. The other five opponents MSU previously has played are University of Virginia, Loyola Marymount, and Saint Joseph's.
ROAD WARRIORS
Morgan State, which played its first nine games on the road, has won 17 of its past 31 games held away from Hill Field House, including a 1-2 mark on neutral courts. The Bears finished 5-10 in true road contests and 0-3 on neutral floors in 2011-12 and posted a 4-4-road conference ledger, which was its worst mark since
Todd Bozeman took over the program in 2006. This season's schedule will send MSU on the road for 10 of its first 11 games, including a six-game road trip from Nov. 29-Dec. 29 that features contests in three different time zones. The Bears are guaranteed at least 19 games away from home this season.
JACKSON SET TO LEAD
DeWayne Jackson is the lone returning senior who saw action for Morgan State last year. There are seven (7) juniors, four (4) sophomores and two (2) freshmen on the Bears roster.
RECOVERING THE SWAG
The Bears will look to rebound from last year's dismal season in which the Bears recorded a 9-20 finish. It marked
Todd Bozeman's worst season as a head coach, and it was Morgan State's worst season since going 4-26 in 2005-06.
JACKSON AND CHILES EARN PRESEASON HONORS
The conference head coaches and sports information directors selected Morgan State senior
DeWayne Jackson to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team. Junior center
Ian Chiles was selected to the Second Team.
JACKSON CLIMBING THE MSU RECORD BOOK
DeWayne Jackson (1,285, 427 rebs., 137 asts) needs just 8 points to surpass Jason McCoy (1,292 points - 1987-91) to become the school's No. 12 all-time leading scorer. Jackson is one of three Bears on MSU's all-time scoring list who have been coached by
Todd Bozeman.
Kevin Thompson (2009-12) ranks No. 9 (1,487 points) and Reggie Holmes (2007-10) is the school's all-time scoring leader with 2,051 points.
HOME GROWN
Morgan State has eight players from the Metropolitan-D.C. area, including one from Baltimore. Senior
DeWayne Jackson (Bowie High) and sophomore
Blake Bozeman (Solebury Prep) are both from Bowie. Transfer guard Daryl Traynham is from Melwood (Wise High), walk-on
Daon Riley is from Severn (Old Mill High), and
Cedric Blossom is from Columbia (Montrose Christian).
Anthony Hubbard is a product of Woodbridge (Va.), while junior
Justin Black attended DeMatha High and
Donte Pretlow was a standout at Dunbar High in Baltimore.
BOZEMAN WIN PERCENTAGE AT MSU
Todd Bozeman, now in his seventh season as head coach of the Bears, has an overall win percentage of .556 (114-91) after 204 games at Morgan State. That winning mean is the second highest among 15 head coaches in the history of the Morgan State men's basketball program. Nathaniel Frazier's winning percentage of .578 (166-121) is the highest percentage in Morgan State history..
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS UNDER BOZEMAN
During his tenure in Baltimore,
Todd Bozeman has coached seven (7) different players to All-Conference honors, including four Players of the Year selections:
Ron Timus (2007 2nd Team),
Boubacar Coly (2008 Defensive POTY, 1st Team),
Jamar Smith (2008 Offensive POTY, 1st Team),
Marquise Kately (2008 & 2009 2nd Team),
Reggie Holmes (2007 All-Rookie, 2008 2nd Team, 2009 Offensive POTY, 2009 & 2010 1st Team),
Kevin Thompson (2009 All-Rookie, 2010 Defensive POTY, 2010 1st Team, 2011 2nd Team),
DeWayne Jackson (Rookie of the Year, 2011 1st Team).
THREE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
In the first nine games of the season, three Bears average more than 12 points a game.
DeWayne Jackson leads the squad in offensively with 14.3 points per game and in steals with 2.6 rpg.
Anthony Hubbard is contributing 13.9 ppg and
Justin Black is averaging 12.4 ppg.
JACKSON DOING A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING EARLY ON
Senior
DeWayne Jackson is filling the stat sheet in the early season, averaging 14.3 points (ranked No. 7), 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.6 steals (ranked No. 2) per game. Jackson has also registered eight blocks. He has recorded eight double-digit scoring games, including a 32-point effort at Virginia (Dec. 19).
BLACK & DUNCAN ACTIVE OFF THE BENCH
Junior
Justin Black and sophomore
Shaquille Duncan are key contributors off the Bears bench. Both are high-energy players with the ability to ignite the team.
Black played a big role in Morgan State's win over Liberty by almost posting a triple-double. He finished the game with 12 rebounds, nine points and nine assists. He currently ranks third on the team in scoring (12.4) and is averaging 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 31.9 minutes per game.
Duncan has played in every game, averaging 22.3 minutes per game. He led the Bears to an overtime victory at VMI where he posted a career-high 17 points and 14 rebounds with three blocks. He's averaging 6.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and ranks No. 5 in the MEAC by averaging 2.1 blocks per game.
UP NEXT
The Bears bring in the New Year with a home date against Saint Joseph's. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 5
th at Hill Field House.
