BALTIMORE, Md. -- It would usually be Morgan State that gets off to the good start in games. But tonight, it was the North Carolina Central Eagles that started well and then held off the Bears 68-62 at Hill Field House.
 
Morgan State's standout forward Phillip Carr came back from a foot injury that had him sidelined for the past five games.

"First off, I'm very grateful to be back," Carr said about his return. "The Lord blessed me with another chance to play basketball again. I don't feel like I rushed it. But I was very uncomfortable out there and didn't have my full wind. I just really used this past week to really get comfortable, and not be nervous on this foot. Next game will be better."
 
But it was the Bears who started things off slow. They had problems putting the ball in the basket early and often. Morgan State (10-12, 7-2 MEAC) only recorded three field goals in the first seven plus minutes of the game.
 
Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman was happy to have both Carr and [Tiwian] Kendley back together on the court. But it took some getting used to though.

"We have to get used to Kendley and Carr playing together again. I knew that was going to be a challenge," said Bozeman. "It is what it is. I'd rather have them back than not to have them back. So it just happens to fail this time. We just have to go back and work. These guys are going to be much better and they'll grow from it."
 
N.C. Central (16-6, 7-1 MEAC) took advantage of the opportunity and got off to a 13-6 advantage off of baskets from Kyle Benton and Patrick Cole with 13:01 left. The Eagles would extend the lead to as much as 12 twice in the first half. Cole and Benton lead all scorers with 17 points each.
 
The latter being 27-15 on a lay-up from Ron Trapps with 3:43 left in the first half.
 
The Bears would put up a mini-rally to end the first half. It started with a Carr three-pointer and ended on a Kendley three to draw the Bears within 31-23 at halftime.
 
In the second half, N.C. Central scored the first seven points on lay-ups by Cole and Benton and a three-pointer from Rashaun Madison with 18:03 left to extend the Eagle advantage to 38-23.
 
The Eagles would lead by as many as 17 twice in the second half. The last being 47-30 on another three-point basket from Madison with 13:56 left.
 
The Bears didn't go away though. They would put up a massive rally to get back into the game, outscoring the Eagles 26-12. The run was led by Kendley who hit a couple of big three-pointers and led the Bears with 14 points on the night. It closed with a couple of buckets by freshman forward David Syfax. The first was a posterizing dunk on Will Ransom in which Ransom was called for a foul. But Syfax missed out on the three-point play opportunity when he missed the free throw. Then Syfax immediately came back on the next possession and converted a lay-up.  Sophomore guard Martez Cameron converted one of two free throws to draw the Bears within three at 59-56 with 2:32 left in regulation.
 
That's as close as the Bears would get as N.C. Central put the game away at the free throw line, converting 7 of 8 from there in the last two minutes.
 
Morgan State next takes to the court on Saturday, February 11 when they host Delaware State at Hill Field House. Game time is at 4 pm.