BALTIMORE, Md. --  Senior forward Kyle Thomas hit the game-winning shot with 30 seconds left and junior forward Phillip Carr had a career-high 29 points with 12 rebounds as Morgan State held on to beat Norfolk State 58-56 on Wednesday night at Hill Field House.

The game was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Morgan State (4-10, 1-0) led 54-51 with 2:58 left, but a Zaynah Robinson 3-pointer followed by a layup for Norfolk State gave the Spartans a 56-55 lead with 43 seconds remaining. After a Spartans timeout, Thomas took a pass from sophomore guard Martez Cameron and drilled a 15-foot jumper to reclaim the lead for the Bears, this time for good.

A final free throw by Carr with one second left gave the game its final tally. 

"It was important to get this first conference win, and we needed a win period" said head coach Todd Bozeman. "We like to say that there's three seasons -- the preseason, the conference season and postseason.What we did in the preseason is over with now, because your conference is what matters. So it was good to get off to a good start and I thought all the guys contributed that played."

"Phillip Carr has been a savage and he's still shooting the ball at 50 percent from the field and the three-point line (1-2). And he's shooting great from the free throw line -- so we're going to keep riding him until we get Tiwian [Kendley] back."

Carr, a preseason All-MEAC selection, registered his seventh double-double (pts & rebs) of the season and his third-straight game of 20-plus points.

"It feels great to get this win," said Carr. " We've been absent from the win column for awhile and it's just great to be 1-0 at the end of the night."

Thomas finished with 10 points, and was the only other Bear to finish in double figures.

Robinson and Jonathan Wade each scored 13 points for Norfolk State (3-12, 0-1).

The Bears shot 33.3 percent (20-for-60) from the floor, including 40 percent in the second half. Morgan State outscored the Spartans by a 14-6 margin in second chance points, despite being out-rebounded 44-to-39.

Norfolk State shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the floor but struggled from the free throw line, going just 9-for-16 at the stripe. 

"This win gives us tremendous confidence as we prepare to go down to Florida," added Carr. "We have two games down there and hopefully we'll go 2-0 after that road trip."

The Bears continue Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play when they travel to play Bethune-Cookman (Jan. 7), followed by Florida A&M on Tuesday, Jan. 10.