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Game 6
Opponent: George Mason Patriots (2-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Site: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Series Record: George Mason leads 3-1
Live Stats: gomason.com
TV/Video: ESPN+
Radio: Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com) | Lamont Germany (PxP), Ronnie Duncan (Color)
MSU Coaches: MSU -
Todd Bozeman (188-200, 13th yr) • George Mason - Dave Paulsen (49-57 4th yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.gomason.com
SETTING THE STAGE
Morgan State (2-3) returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, Nov. 28, as the Bears face Atlantic 10 member George Mason (2-5). Game time is slated for 7 p.m. at EagleBank Arena and the contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast by the Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com). MSU enters the contest riding a two-game winning streak, most recently defeating Mount St. Mary's 78-68 at Hill Field House on Sunday. George Mason had a 72-61 setback to Baylor last Saturday afternoon at the Emerald Coast Classic.
THE SERIES
• Wednesday's contest will mark the fifth matchup between the schools with George Mason leading the series 3-1.
• Morgan State recorded an 85-82 victory against George Mason on January 2, 1994 at the Patriot Center.
• The Patriots won last season's meeting, 86-79, on Dec. 22 last season.
2017-18 PATRIOTS RECAP
Otis Livingston II, 5-11 guard, was named second team All-Atlantic 10 in 2017-18. He led the Patriots by averaging 17.3 points per game, and also finished seventh in the conference with 4.4 assists per game. The Patriots finished the season with an 16-16 overall record and was 9-9 in A10 play. Jaire Grayer ranked second on the team by averaging 12.3 points per game, and Justin Kier added 11.0 points per game.
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
• George Mason, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, begins the third season under head coach Dave Paulsen ... Paulsen came to Mason from Bucknell, where he earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors on three occasions.
• George Mason finished the 2017-18 season with a 16-16 overall mark and finished with a 9-9 mark in the A10 ... The Patriots fell to Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, 68-49.
• The Patriots have four players averaging double-figures. Jarred Reuter (11.4 ppg) leads the way by averaging 11.4 ppg, followed by senior 5-11 guard Otis Livingston II (10.9 ppg), junior 6-4 guard Justin Kier (10.4 ppg) and senior 6-5 guard Jaire Grayer.
• Redshirt sophomore 6-7 forward AJ Wilson (4.6 rpg) ranks No. 2 in the A10 with 2.1 blocks per game.
• Sophomore 6-2 guard Javon Greene currently leads the Patriots on the glass with 5.0 rebounds per game.
• George Mason is averaging 71.0 points per game (8th in A10), while holding its opponents to 74.1 points (8th in A10).
• The Patriots ranks No. 2 in the conference in field goal percentage (.453).
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PATRIOTS
George Mason put together its best defensive effort of the season but could not hit some key shots on the other end, falling to Baylor 72-61 on Saturday afternoon at the Emerald Coast Classic. Senior guard Otis Livingston II led Mason with a season-best 26 points, made eight field goals and hit 8-of-9 attempts from the charity stripe in the contest. Redshirt-junior Jarred Reuter added 15 points and made a career-best 11 free throws on 14 attempts.
LAST TIME OUT FOR BEARS
Senior guard Martez Cameron scored 15 points, senior Tyler Streeter scored 14 and Morgan State kept Mt. St. Mary's winless with a 78-68 win on Sunday. Mt. St. Mary's (0-6) struggled to protect the ball committing 26 turnovers. For their part, the Bears committed 30 personal fouls and the Mountaineers, 24. Mt. St. Mary's, however, made just 25 of 41 foul shots (61 percent). Mount Saint Mary's had a 51-33 rebounding advantage.
MSU-LINCOLN-PA. POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER
The Morgan State- Lincoln-Pa. men's game scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 15th at Hill Field House was postponed due to inclement weather.
• The game has been rescheduled for January 3rd. The time will be announced at a later date.
THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Bears completed the 2017-18 season ranked No. 3 in the conference in free throw percentage by shooting 72.5 percent (538-742) from the line. Former Bear standout Phillip Carr ranked No. 2 (.846) in the league.
• The Bears have started the 2018-19 season by shooting 72.0 percent (59-82; No. 1 in MEAC) from the stripe. Stanley Davis is perfect from the line (6-6), followed by Victor Curry at 85.7 percent (9-10), David Syfax at 83.3 percent (5-6) and both Tyler Streeter (4-5) and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince (8-10) are shooting 80 percent.
AT THE HELM
Todd Bozeman enters his 13th year at the helm as Morgan State men's head coach. The Bears have participated in six of the last 12 MEAC Tournament championships, captured back-to-back-MEAC Titles, and made appearances in the NIT and two NCAA Tournaments.
WHO'S OUT
Morgan State's standouts Phillip Carr and guard Tiwian Kendley completed their careers as two of the school's all-time top players. Kendley, a 6-5 guard from Harlem, N.Y., has made his mark as one of the top players in school history. In his senior campaign, Kendley averaged 26.1 points per game and grabbed 4.0 rebounds per game while also averaging 2.1 steals per game. He is currently a member of the NBA G League's Washington Go-Gos. Carr is one of only seven players to wear the MSU uniform and score over 1,000 points with over 700 rebounds, totals that he accumulated in just three seasons as a Bear. Carr is currently playing for the New York Knicks team's G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.
WHO'S BACK
Back from last season's squad that finished with a 13-19 record are starters Martez Cameron and Antonio Gillespie, while Stanley Davis Jr. and David Syfax return to the Bears along with a number of contributors off the bench with: Tyler Streeter, LaPri McCray-Pace and Kyson Rawls.
WHO'S IN
The Bears have added seven newcomers to the 2018-19 roster: G Ranell Bell; G Malik Miller; G Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr.; G Isaiah Burke; F Jordan Little; F Victor Curry; and F Taron Oliver Jr.
RETURNING PRODUCTION NUMBERS
Morgan State returns 49.6 percent of its scoring, 28.4 percent of its rebounding and 55.1 percent of its minutes played totals from last year's team. The team leaders in field goal percentage (Tyler Streeter - .543 ), three-point percentage (Antonio Gillespie, .369), free throw percentage (Antonio Gillespie, .800), rebounding (David Syfax - 4.4 rpg), assists (Martez Cameron, 4.3), steals (Martez Cameron, 1.5), blocked shots (David Syfax, 0.7). and minutes played (Martez Cameron, 32.6). Six (6) players who started in at least five (5) games a year ago also return - Cameron (26), Davis (16), Gillespie (14 ), McCray-Pace (10), Rawls (6) and Syfax (5).
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 four players from the DMV (D.C., Maryland & Metropolitan-D.C.) area. Freshman point guard Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. is from Bladensburg, Md. and graduated from Wise HS. Freshman guard Isaiah Burke is from Annapolis and was a prep standout at Bowie HS, while junior forward Taron Oliver, Jr. played for Montrose Christian and is from District Heights, Md. Freshman guard Malik Miller hails from Washington, D.C. and played at Friendship Tech Prep.
BOZEMAN'S RETURNING STAFF
Morgan State head basketball coach Todd Bozeman coaching staff returns for their fourth season. The Bears coaching staff consists of assistant coaches Brian Ellerbe, Larry Stewart, and Hans Desir.
• Ellerbe spent four years at Virginia, starting in 1990. He worked under Jeff Jones, now coach at Old Dominion. He was also the first African-American Head Coach at Loyola University, Maryland and The University of Michigan.
• Stewart was the Associate Head Coach for the Bowie State men's basketball team where he spent six seasons. He played with the NBA's Bullets, Vancouver Grizzlies and Seattle Super Sonics until 1997. His brother, Stephen, is an assistant coach at Coppin State.
• Desir, a Miami native, joins the Bears staff with over 10 years of coaching experience. he was previously lead assistant coach for J.T. Burton at Motlow College.
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The year will open the 2018-19 season with three road matchups, first at Villanova Nov. 6, then at Saint Francis on Nov. 9, followed by DePaul on Nov. 12. The Bears' home-opener will be Nov. 15 versus Lincoln (Pa.), followed by a Nov. 20 date when they host the Naval Academy. The Bears will face Mount St. Mary's at Hill Field House on Nov. 25, and travel to George Mason on Nov. 28. The Bears will face Virginia on Dec. 3 and will host Binghamton on Dec. 5. MSU will take on Towson on Dec. 8, followed by a matchup with Wilmington (Del.) on Dec. 17. MSU will wrap the month of December at Old Dominion (Dec. 22) and will travel to the west coast for a game at CA-Northridge Dec. 29.
PREDICTED TO FINISH SIXTH IN THE MEAC
The Morgan State men's basketball team has been tabbed to finish sixth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason Men's Basketball Poll the league announced today.
• The Bears return two starters from last year's team, bringing back senior guards Martez Cameron and Antonio Gillespie. MSU also returns a few talented upperclassmen in senior guard Tyler Streeter and junior guard Stanley Davis and junior forward David Syfax.
• MSU was selected to finish sixth in 2018-19, earning 138 points in the poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors who could not vote for their own team or team members. Bethune-Cookman edged out North Carolina Central for first place honors.
• Seven (7) Bears are back from a team that tied for seventh in the MEAC. Morgan State finished the year 7-9 in the conference and 13-19 overall. MSU's season ended with a 79-70 loss to North Carolina Central in the MEAC Tournament semifinals.
• The 2018 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips off March 5-10 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. For more information about the MEAC and its sponsored sports, log on to www.MEACSports.com.
ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
