burke
Lawrence Johnson
71
Winner SAINT FRANCIS SFU 1-2
65
MORGAN STATE MSUM 1-2
Winner
SAINT FRANCIS SFU
1-2
71
Final
65
MORGAN STATE MSUM
1-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
SAINT FRANCIS SFU 32 39 71
MORGAN STATE MSUM 22 43 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joshua Sampson - MSU Athletic Communications

Bears Fall Short Against Saint Francis

BALTIMORE, Md. (November 13, 2019) -- Although the Morgan State Bears clawed back to within four points in the second half, the Saint Francis University Red Flash maintained their lead to defeat the Bears 71-65 to earn their first victory.
 
Morgan State head coach Kevin Broadus felt his team could still grab the lead, despite trailing by as many as 16 points.
 
"The game was always in reach," said Broadus. "We just have to find a way to close games out. We were right there."
 
The Bears' biggest deficit came in the first half after a jump shot by Keith Braxton put the Bears down 16. 
 
"I just told them to keep the energy up," said senior guard Stanley Davis. "Keep the focus and don't let the score get us down. Keep being aggressive." 
 
Davis finished with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. 
   
 
In the second half, the Bears were able to trim the lead to single digits. 
 
After going down by 14 after a jump shot with 13:49 to go by Scott Meredith (10 points) the Bears trimmed into the lead with 10-0 run. Senior forward David Syfax Jr. hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to  43-39.
 
Morgan State had a chance to cut the lead to two points after a steal by sophomore guard Malik Miller led to a breakaway dunk attempt by Syfax, however the dunk rimmed out. 
 
The two teams would go on to trade makes and misses down the stretch until the Bears went on another run with three minutes remaining. 

 
 
The Bears went on a 1:50 run that propelled them to being down three points after sophomore guard Isaiah Burke knocked down two free throws, a factor of the game the Bears struggled with throughout.
 
Though the Bears were again within striking distance of taking their first lead of the game, but a missed jumper by Sherwyn Devonish-Prince with 1:07 remaining left the Red Flash in command for the final minute of the game. 
 
Burke finished with a team-high 16 points. Devonish-Prince added 10 points. 
 
"I just tried to play hard the whole time and get my teammates involved and take my shots when they were given to me," Burke said.
 
The Bears struggled from the charity stripe shooting 59 percent (19-32 FT).
 
"It's all concentration," Broadus said. 
 
 The Red Flash took advantage of their free-throw opportunities by shooting 88 percent (31-35 FT).
 
"We got to get better. We got to concentrate. We shoot free throws everyday," Broadus added.
 
Red Flash guard Keith Braxton shot 14-for-15 from the free-throw line and finished with 20 points. Myles Thompson had 17 points and seven rebounds, while Scott Meredith added 10 points.
 
All of the Bears starters were in foul trouble. Junior forward Troy Baxter only saw nine minutes of action as he picked up three fouls in the first half and fouled out in the second. 

Burke, Davis and Jamar Brown all finished with four fouls. 
 
The Bears also struggled to score in the first half. The team shot 26 percent from the first half and didn't see their first shot go in until a layup by Devonish-Prince at the 16:26 mark. 
  
Broadus also felt the team can't continue to play from behind.
 
"We spotted them too many points in the first half and we can't play from behind and think we're going to win all the time. We gotta figure out a way to have a balance early on."
 
Next up for the Bears is a road game versus the George Washington Colonials on Saturday in Washington, D.C. at 7 p.m. 
 
 
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