BALTIMORE, Md. -- Senior guard Tiwian Kendley and senior forward Phillip Carr combined to score 67 of Morgan State's 87 points as the Bears beat Florida A&M, 87-68 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference battle on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House.
The victory is Morgan State's 35th in the 59-game history of the series.
Carr hit a free throw, a layup, a 3-pointer and a dunk as the Bears (6-9, 2-0) opened up a 20-5 lead over the first seven minutes of the game. Kendley hit a pair of 3s to help fuel the start.
Kendley scored a season-high with 35 points on 10-of-24 shooting, including 4 of 13 from distance, and 11 of 13 from the line. Carr added a season-high 32 on 11-of-13 shooting, including 1 for 1 from deep, and 9 of 11 from the line while grabbing a game-high eight boards.
Marcus Barham led the Rattlers (2-16, 1-1) with 22 points and Desmond Williams added another 16.
The Bears shot 50.9 percent from the field and outscored the Rattlers in the paint by a 32-18 margin.
"I thought we did a much better job defensively in the second half," said MSU coach Todd Bozeman, who team led 43-38 at the intermission. "I thought that it was key because it basically kept them in the game in the first half."
"I thought that Tiwian, Stanley [Davis], Dave [Syfax] and the other guys, but especially Tiwian, did a great job of keeping them from the ball. I thought our pressure clearly affected them a little bit. I wanted to get us going and get us moving and defending early, so that's why we decided to press."
The Bears scored 24 points off of 18 Rattler turnovers.
Bozeman spoke about the performances turned in by his two senior standouts.
"With Phil [Carr] and Tiwian... that's why we got picked to win the conference," said Bozeman. "Those guys should do that, whether it's that many points, they should lead us because they're two first team all-conference players. They should be those kind of guys for us."
"It was good to see those guys get comfortable and get into a rhythm, Phil in particular. He hadn't scored like that all year, but he's starting to get a rhythm. We just have to defend and we need more help from other guys coming off the bench."
Morgan State hopes to extend its winning streak when it finishes a three-game homestand Monday night when they play host to the Savannah State Tigers (4-12, 1-0). Tip-off at Hill Field House is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
