Ian Chiles scored 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second half vs. Delaware State.
Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Ian Chiles scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in helping Morgan State overcome a seven-point halftime deficit in defeating Delaware State 77-64 on Saturday before a crowd of 3,970 fans at Hill Field House.
Justin Black finished with 14 points and Cedric Blossom posted a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for Morgan State, which improved to 7-12 overall and 5-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Morgan State shot only 35 percent in the first half but improved to 48 percent in the second period in overtaking the Hornets.
Delaware State (4-16, 0-7) led at halftime 38-31 and was playing its first game under the former assistant and now interim coach Keith Walker, who took over when Greg Jackson was fired on Thursday.
"I thought they (Delaware State) played harder than we did, and wanted it more," said MSU head coach Todd Bozeman. "I was really disappointed with our effort in the first half. We typically haven't been playing like that -- so that bothered me. But I give them credit, we picked it up in the second half and we just stayed with it because their team was determined and they weren't letting up at all."
Morgan State rallied at the start of the second period, scoring the first 6 points and setting the stage in later overtaking the Hornets down the stretch and winning by 13 points.
The squads traded leads seven times, including seven ties, before Chiles took over. The 7-foot-2 center scored six points during a four minute stretch and he hit a jump hook at the 3:24 mark to put the Bears up by four (65-61).
The Hornets closed to within a basket when Albert Thomas scored on a jumper, but the Bears responded with a 12-1 surge, ignited by Blake Bozeman (7 pts) who hit a pair of deep 3-pointers during the run to close out the game.
Chiles scored 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.
"He was big," Bozeman said about the play of Chiles. "He's a guy that teams gear their defense up to stop. He's been having a great year and we're just going to keep going to him; he answered the bell and answered the call and he didn't have a great game against N.C. Central, so I know he wanted to come back and have a good game."
"Kendall Grey (Delaware State) is a good player and has been causing problems for a lot of teams so Ian was up for the challenge and he did a good job -- an absolutely good job."
The Hornets were led by Casey Walker with 14 points and Tyshawn Bell chipped in 12. Kendall Grey had 9.
The Bears return to action on Monday night in an ESPNU televised matchup against the Hampton Pirates (11-10, 6-2 MEAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Pirates will enter Hill Field House coming off a 79-76 overtime victory at Coppin State.
Bear Notes
+ The Bears scored 19 points off of 12 Delaware State turnovers
+ MSU outrebounded the Hornets 41-29, and scored 25 points off of 21 offensive rebounds
+ The Bears shot 20-of-32 from the free throw line
+ MSU improved to 7-1 when leading with 3 minutes to go
