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GAME 17: FLORIDA A&M RATTLERS  (5-12, 1-3 MEAC)
Saturday, January 16, 2016 • 6 p.m. • Al Lawson Center • Tallahassee, Fla.
Live Video Stream: Go to www.famuathletics.com
Radio: n/a
Series Record: Florida A&M leads the series 33-22
Head Coaches: MSU - Todd Bozeman (153-153, 10th yr) • FAMU– Byron Samuels (7-39, 2nd yr)
Website: MSU - www.morganstatebears.com; www.famuathletics.com
 
BEARS SET TO TIP AT FLORIDA A&M ON SATURDAY NIGHT
The Morgan State Bears will begin a two-game swing through Florida with a tough matchup Saturday, Jan. 16 when they take on the Florida A&M Rattlers. Game time is 6 p.m. from the Al Lawson Center at 6 p.m. FAMU will enter the contest attempting to snap a 4-game losing streak and bounce back from an 81-75 loss at Columbia, while the Bears are coming off a 63-58 home win against Delaware State.  It will mark the Bears first trip to Tallahassee since 2012.
 
PREVIEWING THE RATTLERS
• FAMU returns three starters and seven letterwinners from its 2014-15 squad that went 2-27, went 2-14 in MEAC play.
• Byron Samuels (UNC Asheville '86) finished his first season as head coach for the Rattlers by posting a pair of wins. Samuels was previously the basketball operations coordinator at the Univ. of Georgia. He has over 25 years of coaching experience and currently has a 7-39 record at Florida A&M.
• The Rattlers were picked last (13th) in the 2015-16 MEAC Preseason Poll.
• FAMU is led by a Malcolm Bernard (6-6,190) and Justin Ravenel (6-1,175). Bernard is currently the only Rattler averaging double-figures and leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg), rebounding (6.8 rpg) and assists (4.2 apg). Ravenel is averaging 9.1 ppg (.345 FG) and has connected on 37-of-106 (.349) 3-pointers. Francois Lewis (6-9, 220) is adding 8.0 ppg and 3.9 rpg for the Rattlers.
• FAMU is shooting 39 percent from the floor as a team and has connected on 91-of-312 (.292) 3-pointers.
• Malcolm Bernard led FAMU with 23 points(17-18 FT) and 11 rebounds, but Hampton's Reginald Johnson Jr. scored 21 points, while Dionte Adams and Quinton Chievous both had double-doubles to help defeat the Rattlers 71-65 in overtime on Monday night at the HU Convocation Center.
 
THE SERIES
• MSU will square off against FAMU for the 56th meeting in history between the two schools.
• The last matchup at Al Lawson Center was on March 1, 2012. Aric Brooks led the Bears with 16 points, while Justin Black had 12 and Shaquille Duncan 10 to lead the Bears to a 74-68 victory. MSU shot 68 percent from the field.
• MSU's last win against the Hawks was on Jan. 17, 2015 when Cedric Blossom poured in a career-high 26 points with 14 rebounds dropped the Rattlers 75-65 at Hill Field House. Donte Pretlow added 10 points and six assists.

NEXT UP
The Bears will travel to Daytona, Fla. to square-off against the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Jan. 18.

AT THE HELM
Todd Bozeman enters his 10th year at the helm as Morgan State men's head coach. The Bears have participated in six of the last nine MEAC Tournament championships, captured back-to-back-MEAC Titles, and made appearances in the NIT and two NCAA Tournaments.
 
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).
 
HOME GROWN 
Morgan State has five (5) players from the DMV (D.C., Maryland & Metropolitan-D.C.) area, including two from Baltimore. Senior Donte Pretlow (Dunbar High) and redshirt junior Cliff Cornish (North County) are both from Baltimore. Senior Cedric Blossom (Montrose Christian) is from Columbia and senior Andrew Hampton is from Germantown (Seneca Valley), while freshman Anthony Tate (Takoma Academy) is from Fort Washington.
 
COMFORTABLE AT HILL FIELD HOUSE
Todd Bozeman has won at least 10 home games in three of his eight seasons in Baltimore. The 2007-08 (12-1) and 2009-10 (11-1) squads finished with just a single loss, while the 2010-11 squad went 10-2. Bozeman has led the Bears to a 72-32 (.679) overall home record at Hill Field House.

BLOSSOM LEADING
Senior Cedric Blossom has scored double figures in eight of the 10 games he's played this season and is currently the Bears' leading scorer by averaging 14.0 ppg. The starting forward is shooting 47 percent from the field, has converted 33-of-52 (.635) free throws and is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. He enters Saturday's contest after leading the Bears with 17 points (8-11 FG) with three rebounds and a pair of assists in 37 minutes at Maryland Eastern Shore. He scored a season-high 25-point performance against Manhattan in which he shot 7-for-13 from the field, 79 percent (11-14 FT) from the stripe and had seven boards. The Preseason All-MEAC Second Team selection is averaging 15.0 thru the last three games for the Bears.

STARTING LINEUPS
Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman has been mixing his lineups up during the early going of the season. The Bears have had a total of eight different starting lineups through the first 16 games. 

BENCH PRODUCTION
Morgan State's depth has been evident through the Bears' first 16 games this season, with MSU averaging 17.5 off the bench. Coach Bozeman's bench poured in a season-high 36 points off the during a loss to Manhattan. The reserves have averaged 23.0 points in the last three contests.