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Game 28
Opponent: Coppin State Eagles (5-24, 5-9 MEAC)
Date: Monday, February 26, 2018
Site: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Time: 8 p.m.
Series Record: Coppin State leads the series 57-31
Live Stats/Video Stream: morganstatebears.com
Radio: WEAA, 88.9FM | Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.org)
MSU Coaches: MSU - Todd Bozeman (183-195, 12th yr) • CSU - Juan Dixon (5-24 1st yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.coppinstatesports.com
SETTING THE STAGE
Morgan State will culminate its home schedule with a matchup against cross-town rival Coppin State on Monday night. The MEAC foes meet for the second time this season, with the Bears falling 80-73 in overtime at Coppin State on Jan. 20. Game time is slated for 8 p.m. ET. The contest will be streamed live on morganstatebears.com. MSU is coming off a forfeit at Hampton, while Delaware State ended Division I's second-longest losing streak at 21 games with a 69-51 victory over Coppin State. Chad Andrews-Fulton scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Eagles.
SENIOR NIGHT
Morgan State will honor senior student-athletes Phillip Carr (Brooklyn, N.Y./Transit Tech HS) and Tiwian Kendley (Harlem, N.Y./Roosevelt HS) who will be playing in their final home game at Hill Field House.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Coppin State head coach Juan Dixon (North Carolina Central, '96) enters his first season as the Eagles head coach ... he was named the seventh head coach in Coppin State University men's basketball history on April 26, 2017 ... Dixon comes to Baltimore from the University of the District of Columbia, where he spent a season with the Firebirds women's basketball team in 2016-17.
• Coppin State finished the 2016-17 season with a 8-24 overall mark and finished T-6th in MEAC regular season play by posting a 7-9 record... The Eagles were defeated by Howard 79-73 in the first round of the 2017 MEAC Tournament.
• The Eagles have a three players averaging in double figures, led by Lamar Morgan, a 6-6 junior transfer from Mineral Area College, is averaging 12.6 points and is shooting 38 percent from the field. Karonn Davis, a 6-2 transfer from Niagara University, is averaging 11.1 ppg and 3.8 assists. Sophomore 6-2 guard Dejuan Clayton who is averaging 10.2 points and is shooting 32 percent from 3-point territory.
• Junior 6-5 forward Adam Traore leads the Eagles on the glass by averaging 6.7 rebounds per contest.
• Graduate student Kent Auslander is a Herndon (Va.) product who transferred to Coppin State from the University of Maryland.
• Coppin State is holding its opponents to 75 points (No. 4 in MEAC), and ranks last in the league by averaging 61 points per game.
• The Eagles rank No. 2 in the league by shooting 72.8 percent from the free throw line.
• Coppin State has been dominated on the boards and currently rank No. 12 in rebounding margin (-8).
THE SERIES
• Saturday's contest will mark the 89th matchup between the schools ... The Eagles lead the series 57-31 ... Morgan State has won four of the last five meetings.
• Feb. 27, 2017 -- The Bears found a way to survive yet another Coppin State rally and edged the Eagles 71-66 at a raucous Hill Field House before an announced 4,078. Kendley would lead all scorers with 21 points on the night. David Syfax had 11 points and 10 rebounds while Phillip Carr finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Lamar Morgan hit seven 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Karonn Davis tallied seven of his 22 in overtime and Coppin State defeated Morgan State 80-73 in overtime on January 20 at the PEC. Tiwian Kendley topped the Bears with 26 points, but he made just 10 of 26 from the floor, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range, and had seven turnovers.
AT THE HELM
Todd Bozeman enters his 12th year at the helm as Morgan State men's head coach. The Bears have participated in six of the last 11 MEAC Tournament championships, captured back-to-back-MEAC Titles, and made appearances in the NIT and two NCAA Tournaments. Bozeman is also the school's all-time winningest coach with 183 victories...and counting!
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 three players from the DMV (D.C., Maryland & Metropolitan-D.C.) area. Returning sophomore forward Azariah Sykes is from Richmond, Va. and graduated from Milwood HS. Returning sophomore center Tyjhai Byers is from Bethesda and was a prep standout at Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS, while Harlem native Tiwian Kendley is not from the DMV... he did play at Eleanor Roosevelt HS.
CARR NAMED MEAC PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR, KENDLEY SELECTED TO FIRST TEAM
The MEAC announced that Morgan State forward Phillip Carr is the 2017-18 MEAC Preseason Player of the Year.
• Carr, a Brooklyn, New York, native, led the Bears in rebounding, and was second on the team in scoring last season.
• He was selected to the All-MEAC's first team while being the third Bear to earn the Defensive Player of the Year honor (Boubacar Coly – 2008, Kevin Thompson - 2010).
• Carr becomes the first Bear to be named the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year since Kevin Thompson before his senior season in 2010. Reggie Holmes is the last Bear to win the regular-season award, when he received the award in 2009.
• Todd Bozeman's Bears received 13 of 26 first-place votes, outdistancing Norfolk State, and reigning champion North Carolina Central atop the standings.
• Carr led the five-man preseason All-MEAC First-Team and was joined by teammate Tiwian Kendley, who was the MEAC's leading scorer after averaging 21.0 points per game last season. The rest of that group was Norfolk State's Zaynah Robinson, Bethune-Cookman's Brandon Tabb and Howard's Charles Williams.
BOZEMAN'S BRAIN TRUST
Morgan State head basketball coach Todd Bozeman coaching staff returns for their third 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.
THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Bears have started the 2017-18 season by shooting 72.5 percent (453-625; No. 4 in MEAC) from the stripe. Phillip Carr is shooting 85.6 percent (95-111; No. 5), followed by Kyson Rawls at 73.7 percent (14-19) and Stanley Davis at 72.9 percent (35-48).
• Tiwian Kendley will enter Saturday's contest versus Hampton after shooting 11-for-12 vs. Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 19)... he's shooting 76 percent (130-171) from the line and leads the team in the number of made and taken free throws thru his first 16 contests.
BEAR D
The Bears defense was ranked among the conference leaders a season ago and should once again be solid defensively for 2017-18 season.
• MSU's defense has limited opponents to an average of 75.3 points (No. 5 in MEAC) thru 26 games.
• The Bears rank No. 6 in the MEAC in field goal percentage defense at 44.4 percent.
• The Bears rank No. 7 in the MEAC in three-point field goal percentage defense at 35.8 percent.
FIELD GOAL SHOOTING
• Morgan State is shooting 41 percent from the floor.
• The Bears have shot under 50 percent from the floor in its first 22 of 26 games.
• Morgan State has shot 50 percent or better in four of its last 22 contests ... they shot 50 percent against Goldey-Beacom (Nov. 21), a season-high 52 percent at Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 27), 50 percent in a win against Florida A&M (Jan. 6) and 51 percent in the rematch versus Florida A&M on Feb. 12.
• Three starters are shooting better than 40 percent from the floor – Tiwian Kendley (.462), Phillip Carr (.415) and Kyson Rawls is shooting 41 percent.
COMFORTABLE AT HILL FIELD HOUSE
Todd Bozeman has won at least 10 home games in three of his 11 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 93-43 (.684) overall home record at Hill Field House.
• Morgan State is 7-2 at home so far this season.
RETURNING PTS, REBS, ASTS
Morgan State returns 80.8 percent of its scoring from a season in which the team averaged 67.5 ppg during the 2016-17 season of 67.5 points ... MSU returns 74.9 boards a game from a year ago and that's about 74.3 percent of last year's team average of 39.0 a game ... When it comes to assists, MSU returns 263 assists from the total of 322 assists from last season or 81.7 percent returning.
BOARD CHAIR
Phillip Carr, the reigning MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, led the Bears in a 72-60 win over Lincoln-Pa. in which he grabbed a career record 19 rebounds, completely controlling the glass against the Lions.
• Carr's 19 boards (ranks T-No. 11 highest in the nation) bested his previous record of 17, which he set Nov. 23, 2015 against Goldey-Beacom.
• Carr posted his 26th career double-double with 21 points and 15 boards vs. Savannah State (Feb. 10).
• Carr currently ranks No. 2 in the MEAC on the glass by averaging 9.5 rebounds per game in 26 games of the season.
• He has been selected twice as the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week (Dec. 26 & Jan. 9).
• Carr has posted 13 double-doubles so far this season.
• He is averaging 13.7 points and 10 rebounds per game in conference-only games.
CARR REACHES 500 REBOUNDS
• Senior forward Phillip Carr recorded his 500th rebound at Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 27 in his 61st career game.
• Carr recorded nine rebounds versus Florida A&M (Feb. 12) and currently ranks among the school's leaders in rebounds ranked No. 7 with 700 boards.
• Carr is 35 rebounds shy passing Anthony Young for No. 6 (734) on the school's all-time rebounds list.
KENDLEY RINGING IT UP
After missing the first 10 games of the 2017-18 season, senior guard Tiwian Kendley has returned to the hardwood for the Bears.
• The Harlem product provided quite an offensive explosion for the Bears during his season debut at George Mason (Dec. 22) at EagleBank Arena.
• The 6-5 guard missed his first shot of the night, but completed the first half with 20 points (4-5 3FG).
• He finished with a game-high 31 points (10-22 FG) and shot an efficient 7-of-11 from 3-point territory and grabbed five boards in 35 minutes of action.
• Kendley followed the performance with another 31-point outing when the Bears played Grand Canyon at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas (Dec. 27) ... he shot 8-of-20 from the field and was perfect from the free throw line (12-12 FT) and pitched in four steals in 37 minutes of action.
• He had a string of 9-straight games of scoring 20 or more points snapped after he was limited to a season-low 13 points versus Delaware State (Jan. 22).
• Kendley has scored 20 or more points in 14 of 16 games.
• He had a career-high 41 point explosion against Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 19) where he shot 13-for-19 from the floor and added six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
• He's currently averaging 26.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and is shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 76 percent from the charity stripe.
SIGNIFICANT VICTORY AGAINST FLORIDA A&M
• With its 74-48 win against Florida A&M (Feb. 12), MSU recorded its first road victory against a conference opponent since a 65-54 win at Delaware State on Feb. 20, 2017.
• Morgan State registered their first road win against an opponent since a 69-63 victory against Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 27, 2017.
FROM DISTANCE...
• Morgan State has made a 3-pointer in 62 consecutive games...the last time the Bears were shut out from beyond the arc was on Feb. 20, 2016 in a 73-59 loss vs. North Carolina Central at Hill Field House.
• MSU has connected on 33.7 percent from 3-point territory (132-of-392) … ranks No. 5 in the MEAC.
• Tiwian Kendley leads the Bears with 28 threes...the entire roster has made a combined 132 threes.
ABOUT MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is celebrating its 150th year of excellence in higher education. A Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution, Morgan offers 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.
