BEARS BOUNCE BACK WITH A ROMP, 80-51
Justin Black scores career-high 23 points at Coppin State on Saturday.

BEARS BOUNCE BACK WITH A ROMP, 80-51

2/9/2013 9:38:00 PM

Box Score Bear Shots

BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior guard Justin Black had a career-high 23 points with six assists to help lift the Bears to 80-51 win Saturday at the Physical Education Complex.  The victory snapped the Bears' 3-game losing streak, and handed Coppin State its fifth consecutive loss.
 
Black, who had 12 points against Norfolk State on Monday night, continued his shooting touch tonight connecting on 9 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 5 from downtown. 
 
The win marked the Bears largest margin of victory since a 90-58 win at Howard on January 9, 2010.
 
"That was our best effort all year," Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said. "The whole year we've been trying to focus on keeping the turnovers down and rebounding, so we did those two things. I always knew we had it in us and it was just a matter of us focusing in and coming together."
 
Morgan State (7-13, 4-5) held a 14-9 lead (14:39) before stepping on the accelerator.  The Bears took complete control of the game by outscoring the Eagles 30-7, punctuated by a three-pointer by Black at the buzzer to give the Bears a 46-18 halftime lead.
 
The Bears thoroughly outplayed Coppin State (5-20, 2-8) who got no closer than 21 points when Collin Johnson hit a layup with 13:57 left to pull to 53-32.
 
Senior forward DeWayne Jackson added 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Bears, who shot 50 percent (30-59).  The Bears also took a 42-36 rebounding advantage, led by redshirt-junior center Ian Chiles who finished with 10 boards, nine points and three blocks.
 
The Bears also scored 17 points off of 15 turnovers by Coppin State.
 
Michael Murray scored 13 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles and Taariq Cephas added nine. Coppin State shot 30 percent overall, and just 3 of 19 from beyond the arc.
 
With the win, Todd Bozeman earned his 99th victory as head coach at Morgan State.
 
"We've been going through a real rough phase," Black said. "This is one of the most talented teams since I've been here. Today we wanted to focus on getting loose balls and doing everything right. When you're doing that, big shots happen."
 
Morgan State will face Beltway rival Howard on Monday night. Tip-off at Burr Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET).
 
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