Gamenotes (PDF)

Game Dates: Saturday, December 6, 2014
Opponent: Norfolk State Spartans
Site: Echols Hall, Norfolk, Va.
Game Time: 6 p.m.
Live Video: www.nsuspartans.com/watch
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/nsu/mbball/
In-game Twitter Updates: @morganstbears.com
Record:  MSU 1-6 (0-0 MEAC)
Head Coaches: MSU - Todd Bozeman (144-122 - 9th yr); NSU - Robert Jones (23-19, 2nd yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com/www.NSUSpartans.com
 
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Morgan State men's basketball team (1-6) will open MEAC action Saturday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m., with a road contest at Norfolk State (4-4). Saturday's contest will be played at Echols Hall in Norfolk, Va. The matchup will be streamed live on nsuathletics.com.
 
IT'S OK TO BE A FOLLOWER
MSU men's basketball fans can follow their favorite team, or any of the other MSU athletics programs on Twitter through the handle @MorganStBears.

LAST TIME OUT
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Adam Smith scored 22 points to lead Virginia Tech to an 83-63 win over Morgan State last Sunday. Smith, who led four Virginia Tech players in double figures, hit 7 of 11 from the floor, including a career-high six 3-pointers, as the Hokies (4-2) sank 12 from long range in the game, and shot 56 percent overall (28-of-50). MSU (1-6) got off to a terrible start, hitting just two of its first 17 shots. MSU struggled from the floor, shooting just 31.6 percent (24-of-76). Bozeman scored a career-high 21 points (4-10 3FG) to lead the Bears.

SCOUTING NORFOLK STATE
The Spartans welcomed back seven letterwinners and one starter, from a squad that posted a 19-15 overall record, and finished T-3rd place with an 11-5 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
• Robert Jones (SUNY New Paltz '02) enters his second season as the Spartans head men's basketball coach. He currently holds a 23-18 record as a head coach.
• Jeff Short leads the Spartans by averaging 16.1 ppg. NSU has four players averaging dougle-figures. Rashid Gaston leads the Spartans on the glass by averaging 7.3 boards per contest.
• Gaston scored 28 points on 12 of 15 shooting, but Ameen Tanksley led Hofstra with a game-high 30 points as the Pride pulled off an 88-74 win Tuesday night in Hempstead, N.Y. Hofstra shot 52 percent from the field, and 56 percent from 3-pt territory.

WE MEET AGAIN 
The Morgan State Bears will square off against Norfolk State for the 46th meeting in history between the two schools. The Spartans lead the series 33-12. The series began during the 1959-60 season. The Spartans have won seven of the past eight meetings after the Bears had won four in a row before that. The teams split in the two meetings last year. The Bears dropped NSU 87-70 in Norfolk on Jan. 18, and the Spartans handed MSU a 64-53 setback on Feb. 8 in Baltimore.
 
MORGAN STATE TABBED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Morgan State was picked to finish third in the 2014-15 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball preseason poll behind defending regular season champion North Carolina Central.
 
BLAKE BOZEMAN EARNS PRESEASON HONORS
Morgan State senior guard Blake Bozeman was selected to the Preseason All-MEAC Third Team by the conference head coaches and sports information directors.
 
BOZEMAN LOOKS FOR ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
For three of the last eight seasons, all as head coach, Todd Bozeman has guided teams to at least 20 victories. Bozeman set the Morgan State record for consecutive 20-win campaigns in 2007-08 with a 22-11 record and extended it with a 23-12 campaign in 2008-09, followed by a Division I school record 27-11 record in 2009-10. The previous record was back-to-back 20-win seasons under coach Nathaniel Frazier when he guided the Bears to a 20-8 record in 1972-73, followed by 28-5 in 1973-74.
 
BOZEMAN IN THE MEAC FACTS
• Morgan State has made six MEAC Tournament Championship appearances in eight seasons under head coach Todd Bozeman.
• The Bears have won a pair of MEAC Tournaments titles (2009 & 2010).
• Bozeman has led the Bears to 17 of the school's 32 MEAC Tournament wins.
• He was the 2009 and 2010 Outstanding Coach of the MEAC Tournament.
• Morgan State has advanced to the MEAC Semifinals seven times in the last eight seasons under Bozeman.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Bears finished 5-9 in true road contests and 3-3 on neutral floors in 2013-14 and posted a 5-3 road conference ledger. This season's schedule will send MSU on the road for 14 games, including a trip to Cancun, Mexico.
 
FRESH FACES
Morgan State's roster includes eight (8) newcomers in graduate students Jordan Omogbehin (C) and Zech Smith (C), redshirt sophomore Cliff Cornish (F), and freshmen Jamar Redmond (G), Conrad Chambers (G), Clive 'C.J.' Vaughan Jr. (G), Jeremiah Curtis (F) and Anthony 'A.J.' Vernon (F).
 
BEWARE THE BEAR
Under the direction of Todd Bozeman, Morgan State has collected a couple of memorable wins against big-time opponents. The Bears have recorded historic wins against: Long Island (2009); Manhattan (2009); Arkansas (2009); DePaul (2008); and Maryland (2009).
 
FATHER & SON COMBO
Morgan State is one of nine Division I teams that feature a father-son combo. The following is the list of D1 father-son combos:
Todd & Blake Bozeman – Morgan State
Billy & Billy Donovan – Florida
Ron & R.J. Hunter – Georgia State
Dale & Ethan Layer – Liberty
Craig & Cullen Neal – New Mexico
Keith & Lance Richard – UL Monroe
Bill & Tyler Self – Kansas

THE MARK OF Z
Zech Smith leads Morgan State in blocks with nine (9) on the season. The 7-foot transfer from CSU Bakersfield had a season-high three blocked shots during his MSU home-debut against cross-town rival Towson on Nov. 17. Smith ranks T-No. 6 in the MEAC in blocks by averaging 1.29 blocks per game.
 
NEXT UP: The Bears will travel to face Hampton on Monday, December 8 in Hampton, Virginia. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the HU Covocation Center.