Morgan State University Athletics

Box Score
Bear Shots

BALTIMORE, Md. -- The energy Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman needed to see from his team was in fine form and his Bears had just enough to hold off their crosstown rival Coppin State, 82-77, last night at CSU's Physical Education Complex.
 
Seniors Justin Black and Ian Chiles held it down for the Bears by scoring 23 points each. Chiles had another block party in the paint with five blocked shots in the game. That makes a total of 14 blocked shots in the last two games for Chiles as he recorded a career-high nine blocked shots on Saturday afternoon versus Norfolk State.
 
Black said about their performance, "That's what they expect from us. We're seniors and have been here all four years. So now it's time for us to get a ring. We've been to the championship twice. Time to get there a third time and actually win. So that's the motivation right there."
 
"I think he [Justin Black] is the top player in the MEAC," said Bozeman. "He's playing extremely well for us. He still has things he can improve on, but he is doing a good job. He goes to the bucket really, really strong. He's hitting the outside shot. When he's doing that, he's pretty tough to handle because he's strong too and he does a good job defensively. He did a great job tonight."

"Ian Chiles did a great job for us tonight too.," added Bozeman. "Big fella made some big plays. 7-for-9 from the free throw line is huge."
 
This was the first of two meetings in nine days between the cross-town rivals. These teams meet again at Hill Field House on February 19^th.
 
Tonight's game wasn't without a very scary moment as Coppin State's Michael Murray, who led Coppin with 21 points, attempted to block the shot of MSU's Thair Heath with 13:51 left in the first half and Morgan State ahead 13-9. But the block attempt ended with Heath falling to the floor in a heap. Heath attempted to use his arm to shield his fall, but he went down on his shoulder and bumped his head on the floor. Heath was unresponsive from the waist up for about 20 minutes before the EMT crew arrived to take him to the hospital.
 
Bozeman said after the game, "The trainer told me the CT scans on Thair's neck and head were negative. So that's a good thing. We're happy about that. He's a good kid and he plays hard. He'll bounce back. He's a tough kid."
 
"It was tough to see and I was feeling his pain on the sidelines watching that," said Coppin State head coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell. "It's in the game. It's part of the game and we have to accept those things."
 
Morgan State (9-13, 7-3 MEAC) started the game off pretty well and raced to a 22-11 advantage on a lay-up from Chiles with 11:33 remaining. That was mostly due to the hot start of Black, who had 11 of those points during that run in the beginning of the game.

Coppin State (9-15, 6-5 MEAC) fought back with their defensive pressure, outscoring the Bears 21-9 during a six-minute plus stretch. The Eagles took a brief 32-31 lead on a 10-foot jumper from Jerimyjah Batts with 5:24 left in the first half.
 
The Bears answered the Coppin run with a 13-4 spurt to end the first half. That was due in large part to Anthony Hubbard who scored six points in the spurt, including a lay-up with 28 seconds left to give the Bears a 44-36 lead they would carry into the halftime break.
 
The Bears led the rest of the way. But it wasn't without withstanding Coppin's numerous challenges. The Eagles drew within three on a short jumper from Taariq Cephas, who scored 17 points in the game, with 12:50 remaining. However, Coppin would get no closer as the Bears found a way, time after time, to hold off the Eagles' comeback attempts.
 
The Bears will be off until next Monday, Feb. 17, when they travel to Princess Anne, Md. to take on the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. at the Hytche Athletic Center.