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GAME 29: MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE HAWKS  (9-21, 6-9 MEAC)
Thursday, March 3, 2016 • 7:30 p.m. • Hill Field House  • Baltimore, Md.
Live Stream: www.MorganStateBears.com
Radio: WEAA, 88.9 FM (weaa.org)
Series Record: Morgan State leads the series 50-35
Head Coaches: MSU - Todd Bozeman (158-160, 10th yr) • UMES– Bobby Collins (28-36, 2^nd yr)
Website: MSU - www.morganstatebears.com; www.umeshawks.com
 
SENIOR NIGHT AT HILL FIELD HOUSE CLOSES REGULAR SEASON
Morgan State will resume MEAC play when they host to the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (9-21, 6-9 MEAC) for Senior Night on Thursday, March 3. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Hill Field House. The Hawks will enter the contest fresh off of a 74-65 home win against Delaware State on Saturday. The Bears rallied to post a 74-72 overtime win at Coppin State and bring a three-game winning streak into Thursday's matchup with UMES. 

SENIOR NIGHT
Thursday will be Senior Night for several Bears playing in their final home game at Hill Field House. Morgan State will honor four senior student-athletes Cedric Blossom, Rasean Simpson and Donte Pretlow, who are all on pace to graduate this spring. Andrew Hampton, who graduated in December, will also be honored as a senior for the Bears.
 
PREVIEWING THE HAWKS
• UMES returns a pair of starters and seven letterwinners from its 2014-15 squad that went 18-15, went 11-5 and placed third in MEAC play.
• Bobby Collins (Eastern Kentucky, '91) finished his first season as head coach for the Hawks by posting the most wins by a UMES men's basketball team in 41 years. Though a first round exit in the College Insider Tournament (CIT), the Hawks still managed to earn a postseason berth for the first time since 1981. He currently holds a 28-36 record.
• The Hawks were picked fourth in the 2015-16 MEAC Preseason Poll.
• UMES is led by a pair of seniors in Devin Martin (6-4,205) and Dominique Elliott (6-9,260). Martin, a preseason All-MEAC Third Team selection, is currently leading the way averaging 17.2 points per game (No. 3 in MEAC) and is shooting 43 percent from the field. Elliott, who was selected preseason All-MEAC First Team, is averaging 14.6 ppg (.538 FG) and ranks No. 3 in the MEAC averaging 7.9 rebounds per game. Bakari Copeland (6-6) is adding 10.0 ppg and 4.3 rpg for the Hawks.
• UMES is shooting 44 percent from the floor as a team and has connected on 193-of-582 (.332) 3-pointers.
• The Hawks have struggled this season to 9-21 overall record, and 6-9 in conference play in a 3-way tie for seventh place.
•  Dominique Elliott scored 20 points, Thomas Rivera scored 14 while Ryan Andino and Derrico Peck each contributed 12 to lead Maryland-Eastern Shore past Delaware State 74-65 on Saturday.
 
THE SERIES
• MSU will square off against UMES for the 86th meeting in history between the two schools.
• The last matchup was at the Hytche Athletic Center on Jan. 11. Devin Martin and Dominique Elliott sparked a 9-0 run to lead Maryland Eastern Shore's comeback in the final 7 minutes to beat Morgan State 69-65. Martin led the way by scoring 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to lead UMES to its first conference win of the season. Cedric Blossom scored 17 points (8-11 FG) and Phillip Carr added 16 to lead the Bears.
• MSU's last win against the Hawks was on Feb. 17, 2014 when Ian Chiles had 22 points and added three blocks as the Bears stormed out to a 23-point lead midway through the first half behind its 7-foot-2 center and beat the Hawks 88-72. Justin Black led all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds for the Bears.
• The Hawks swept the season series against Morgan State last year by posting a 78-53 victory at Hill Field House on Jan. 12, 2015, followed by an 89-76 win in Princess Anne on March 5, 2015.
 
NEXT UP
Next week the Bears will compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at The Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
 
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 76-35 (.685) 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.

EXTRA FRAMES
The Bears improved to 1-1 this season when playing in overtime. Morgan State overcame a 7-point deficit late in the second half to defeat cross-town rival Coppin State 74-72 in overtime on Feb. 27. It marked the first overtime victory for the Bears since a 74-67 win against Marist on Nov. 25, 2013. The Bears also suffered an 83-80 loss to Hampton on Jan. 6. 

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 28 games.

"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 108 assists in 27 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 UMES game Thursday with 320 career assists in 116 games...ranked No. 3 in school history.

DOUBLE DUB CREW
Rasean Simpson, Phillip Carr and Cedric Blossom have recorded double-doubles in points and rebounds for the Bears this season. Simpson leads the Bears with four double-doubles. He posted 17 points and 10 rebounds in a victory against N.C. A&T on Feb. 22; 18 points and 13 boards versus Coppin State (Feb. 1); 11 points and 10 boards against CSUN (Jan. 2); and 16 points and 10 boards at Coppin State (Feb. 27).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. 

BLOSSOM LEADING
Senior Cedric Blossom has scored double figures in 17 of the 23 games he's played this season and is currently the Bears' leading scorer by averaging 14.9 ppg (ranks No. 10 in MEAC).
• The starting forward is shooting 49 percent from the field (ranks No. 7 in MEAC), has converted 81-of-123 (.659) free throws and is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game.
• He enters Thursday's contest after posting 14 points with seven rebounds in 43 minutes at Coppin State.
• He posted a career-high seven assists 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. 22 among the school's leading scorers with 1,030 career points and ranks No. 11 with 574 career rebounds.

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. Horne finished with 19 points against Coppin State, including a 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime with 54 seconds to help beat Coppin State 74-72. In the 23 games he's played, Horne is averaging 16.7 ppg as a starter in 16 games, while averaging 4.7 ppg off the bench. 

A WIN THURSDAY WOULD:
• Make MSU 9-20 this season.
• Make MSU 7-9 in MEAC play this season.
• Give MSU a 4-game winning streak heading into the MEAC Tournament.
• Put head coach Todd Bozeman seven wins away from becoming the school's all-time leader in wins.