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GAME 18: BETHUNE-COOKMAN WILDCATS  (5-13, 2-2 MEAC)
Monday, January 18, 2016 • 7:30 p.m. • Historic Moore Gym  • Daytona Beach, Fla.
Live Video Stream: Go to www.bcuathletics.com
Radio: n/a
Series Record: Morgan State leads the series 32-24
Head Coaches: MSU - Todd Bozeman (153-154, 10th yr) • BCU– Gravelle Craig (55-96, 5th yr)
Website: MSU - www.morganstatebears.com; www.bcuathletics.com

BEARS SET TO WRAP FLORIDA SWING AT BETHUNE-COOKMAN ON MONDAY
The Morgan State Bears will wrap a two-game road swing through Florida with a matchup Monday, Jan. 18 when they take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. Game time is 7:30 p.m. from Historic Moore Gym. BCU will enter the contest attempting to bounce back from a 62-54 loss to Coppin State, while the Bears are coming off a 72-65 loss at Florida A&M.  It will mark the Bears first trip to Daytona Beach since 2011.
 
PREVIEWING THE WILDCATS
• BCU returns a pair of starters from its 2014-15 squad that went 11-21, went 7-9 in MEAC play and tied for 7th place.
• Gravelle Craig (Cleveland State '99) is in his 5th season as head coach after seven years of playing a key part in the Wildcats' rise to MEAC regular season champions and the program's first-ever appearance in the conference tournament championship game in 2012. Craig's record at B-CU is currently 55-96.
• The Wildcats were picked 10th in the 2015-16 MEAC Preseason Poll.
• BCU is led by Jordan Potts (5-10,185) and Mario Moody (6-7,215). Potts is averaging 16.6 ppg and is dishing out 4.1 assists per game, while Moody is averaging 12.4 ppg (.479 FG) and has connected on 13-of-37 (.351) 3-pointers. Laron Smith (6-8, 215) leads the 'Cats on the glass with 7.6 rpg and is adding 6.6 ppg.
• BCU is shooting 41 percent from the floor as a team and has connected on 126-of-411 (.307) 3-pointers.
• Mario Moody led B-CU with 14 points and eight rebounds, but Coppin State's Christian Kessee scored 14 points  and Keith Shivers added 10 to help defeat the Wildcats 62-54 on Saturday at Moore Gymnasium. B-CU shot 37 percent from the floor and was 7-for-30 (23 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
THE SERIES
• MSU will square off against Bethune-Cookman for the 57th meeting in history between the two schools.
• The last matchup in Daytona Beach was at the Ocean Center on Feb. 7, 2011. Ameer Ali scored 14 points, MSU shot 58 percent and beat the 'Cats 66-57. Aric Brooks added 13 points and DeWayne Jackson finished with 11.
• MSU's last game against BCU was on Jan. 19, 2015 when  Ricky Johnson scored 20 points and DeLino Dear had 11 with a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 65-58 win at Hill Field House.

NEXT UP
The Bears will have two weeks to prepare until they play host to the Howard Bison on Saturday, January 30. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Hill Field House.
 
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.

BLOSSOM LEADING
Senior Cedric Blossom has scored double figures in nine of the 11 games he's played this season and is currently the Bears' leading scorer by averaging 14.3 ppg. The starting forward is shooting 50 percent from the field, has converted 33-of-54 (.611) free throws and is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. He enters Monday night's contest after leading the Bears with 18 points (9-10 FG) with seven rebounds in 33 minutes at Florida A&M. 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.
 
THE CARR IMPACT
The Bears frontcourt got an infusion of talent in the frontcourt with the addition of Phillip Carr. The 6-foot-8 forward Williston State transfer Phillip Carr is not only a force on the glass, but he's also bloomed into a scoring threat for the Bears. Carr is averaging 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds (No. 6 in MEAC) in 17 starts. He posted a season-best 17 rebounds and finished with 14 points in the Bears home-opener win against Goldey-Beacom (Nov. 23). He has pulled down eight or more rebounds in eight games so far this season.  Carr scored a season-high 20 points (6-17 FG) with five boards against CSUN (Jan. 2), and Saturday he posted 9 points with five boards at Florida A&M. 

MID-RANGE MONSTER
Cedric Blossom practically needs no assistance to get off his shot whenever he sees fit. The 6-foot-6, senior forward is leading the Bears with one of the best mid-range games in the league. Blossom used the offseason to work on his jumper, and it's certainly translating to the floor where he's improved from 32 percent shooting as a freshman… to 50 percent as a senior. 
 
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 17 games. 

GLASS CONTROL
The Bears have struggled to rebound through the first 17 games of the season.
• The Bears rank No. 11 in the MEAC in rebounding margin  (-6.1).
• Rank No. 9 in the MEAC in rebounding defense (39.8) and No. 8 rebounding offense rpg (33.7).
• The Bears have gone 3-1 when outrebounding their opponents, and are 0-13  when outrebounded.
• The Bears recorded a season-high 46 rebounds in a win against Goldey-Beacom.
• MSU posted a season-low 21 rebounds in their season-opener loss at Virginia.
• Sophomore Phillip Carr ranks No. 6 in the MEAC in rebounding by averaging 7.1 rebounds per game, including a season-high 17 on Nov. 23 against Goldey-Beacom.