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GAME 28: COPPIN STATE EAGLES (7-20, 5-9 MEAC)
Saturday, February 27, 2016 • 4 p.m. • Physical Education Complex Arena  • Baltimore, Md.
Live Stats: Click here
Radio: WEAA, 88.9 FM (weaa.org)
Series Record: Coppin State leads the series 56-28
Head Coaches: MSU - Todd Bozeman (157-160, 10th yr) • CSU– Michael Grant (15-43, 2nd yr)
Website: MSU - www.morganstatebears.com; www.coppinstatesports.com
 
BEARS READY FOR FINAL REGULAR SEASON ROAD GAME; FACE COPPIN STATE ON SATURDAY
Morgan State will resume MEAC play when they travel to face cross-town rival Coppin State (7-20, 5-9 MEAC) on Saturday, Feb. 27. Game time is 4 p.m. at the PEC Arena and will mark Homecoming for the Eagles. Coppin State will enter the contest looking to rebound from an 85-77 loss against Norfolk State on Monday, while the Bears will attempt to extend to a 3-game winning streak following an 89-72 win against Norfolk State on Wednesday night.
 
PREVIEWING THE EAGLES
• CSU returned a pair of starters from its 2014-15 squad that went 8-23, went 6-10 in MEAC play and finished in 9th place.
• Michael Grant (Malone) is in his 2nd season at the helm for Coppin State. Grant was named Coppin State's sixth head men's basketball coach since 1964 on May 7, 2014. Prior to CSU, Grant had head coaching stints at Stillman College, Southern University (La.) and at Central State University.
• The Eagles were picked 11th in the 2015-16 MEAC Preseason Poll.
• Coppin State juniors Christian Kessee (6-2, 180) and Terry Harris, Jr. (6-8, 205) are leading a very balanced Eagle attack. Kessee is averaging 14.2 ppg, while Harris is scoring 11.8 points and leads the team in rebounds with 7.1 boards per game. CSU also has four other players averaging just over 10 points per game.
• CSU is shooting 37 percent from the floor as a team and has connected on 204-of-618 (.330) 3-pointers.
•  Jeff Short had 17 points on Monday, D'Shon Taylor chipped in 15 and Norfolk State beat Coppin State 85-77. Christian Kessee led the Eagles with 18 points, Joshua Treadwell and Mufaro Murinda added 17 each and Seymore scored 15.
 
THE SERIES
• MSU will square off against Coppin State for the 85th meeting in history between the two schools.
• The last matchup at CSU was on Feb. 2, 2015. Coppin State cruised to an 80-67 victory over the Bears at the PEC Arena. Arnold Fripp hurt the Bears by scoring 14 of his game high 22 points in the first half.
• Last time out - Feb. 1, 2016. The Bears didn't let their foot off the gas in their 83-43 pummeling of the Eagles at Hill Field House. Rasean Simpson recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead everyone.

NEXT UP
The Bears will conclude the MEAC regular season when they host Maryland Eastern Shore on Thursday, March 3.
 
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 77-35 (.688) overall home record at Hill Field House.

LARGEST MARGIN IN WIN
Morgan State posted an 83-43 victory over Coppin State (Feb. 1) for its largest margin of victory this season, and its largest margin of victory against the Eagles. The Bears also posted an 83-63 victory over Howard (Jan. 30)...so in its last two contests, Bozeman's Bears have outscored its last two opponents by a whopping 166-106 margin. Prior to the win against Howard, the Bears' previous largest margin of victories had been by five (5) points. On Nov. 21, 2015 the Bears posted their first win of the season with a 59-54 win at Campbell University, and on Jan. 9, 2016 they recorded a 63-58 victory against Delaware State.

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 nine different starting lineups through the first 27 games.

GLASS CONTROL
• MSU ranks No. 10 in the MEAC in rebounding margin  (-3.4).
• Rank No. 9 in the MEAC in rebounding defense (38.9) and No. 6 rebounding offense rpg (35.6).
• The Bears have gone 6-3 when outrebounding their opponents, and are 1-17  when outrebounded.
• The Bears recorded a season-high 52 rebounds in a win against Coppin State (Feb. 1).
• MSU posted a season-low 21 rebounds in their season-opener loss at Virginia.
• Sophomore Phillip Carr ranks No. 8 in the MEAC in rebounding by averaging 6.9 rebounds per game, including a season-high 17 against Goldey-Beacom.

EXTRA FRAMES
The Bears are 0-1 this season when playing in overtime. With the 83-80 loss to Hampton on Jan. 6, the Bears have lost its last two overtime contests, however they've won three of its last four matchups. Morgan State's last overtime victory was a 74-67 win against Marist on Nov. 25, 2013.

HORNE INSERTED AS STARTER
Junior Andre Horne made his first start since the Nov. 28 game at High Point, while former starting guard Martez Cameron was moved to a reserve role during the Bears blowout victory over Howard. Horne played an active game for the Bears, finishing with 18 points (9-12 FT), four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in 29 minutes of action. He scored 13 of his game-high 18 points (4-6 3FG) in the first half in a win against Norfolk State. In the 21 games he's played, Horne is averaging 14.5 ppg as a starter in 15 games, while averaging 4.7 ppg off the bench.
 
 DOUBLE DUB CREW
Phillip Carr, Cedric Blossom and Rasean Simpson have recorded double-doubles in points and rebounds for the Bears this season. With 14 points and 17 rebounds against Goldey Beacom on Nov. 23, Carr posted the first double-double of the season. He posted his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 boards at South Carolina State (Feb. 8). Blossom finished with a 17 points and 12 rebounds on Dec. 23 against Rider, and exploded for career-highs with 28 points and 15 rebounds at Norfolk State on Feb. 13. Simpson collected his third double-double of the season by posting 17 points and 10 rebounds in a victory against N.C. A&T on Feb. 22. He had 18 points and 13 boards versus Coppin State (Feb. 1) and had 11 points and 10 boards against CSUN (Jan. 2).

BLOSSOM LEADING
Senior Cedric Blossom has scored double figures in 16 of the 22 games he's played this season and is currently the Bears' leading scorer by averaging 14.9 ppg.
• The starting forward is shooting 49 percent from the field, has converted 79-of-117 (.675) free throws and is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game.
• He enters Saturday's contest after posting a career-high seven assists with 8 points (6-7 FT) and three boards in 38 minutes vs. Norfolk State on Feb. 24.
• He had a career-high 28 points (11-17 FG) with 15 rebounds in 36 minutes at Norfolk State...his previous career high was 26 points vs. Savannah State (Feb. 7, 2015) and his previous career high in rebounds was 14 vs. Florida A&M (Jan. 17, 2015).
• The Preseason All-MEAC Second Team selection is averaging 13.0 thru the last three games for the Bears.
• He earned MEAC Player of the Week (Jan. 31).
• He ranks No. 24 among the school's leading scorers with 1,016 career points.

"TAY" DIMES
With a career-high nine (9) assists with zero turnovers during a brilliant floor-game against N.C. A&T on Feb. 22, senior point guard Donte Pretlow has dished out a total of 103 assists in 26 starts for the Bears. The senior is currently averaging 4.0 assists per game (Ranked No. 4 in MEAC) and had eight dimes versus UC Riverside on Dec. 28, 2015… he also had eight assists at Manhattan on Dec. 20, 2014. "Tay" will enter the Coppin State game Saturday with 315 career assists in 115 games...ranked No. 3 in school history.

FOUR SENIORS
Head coach Todd Bozeman has four senior Bears who will be wrapping up their final games in a Blue and Orange uniform. The group of veterans includes: Cedric Blossom, Rasean Simpson, and Donte Pretlow. Andrew Hampton, who suffered a season-ending injury, will also be completing his collegiate career with the Bears.