Bears Fall to Liberty in first round of The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase

Men's Basketball 11/22/2019 1:13:00 PM MSU Athletic Communications

Bears Fall to Liberty in first round of The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase

Box Score

NASSAU, The Bahamas -- Morgan State men's basketball suffered an 89-48 loss to Liberty in first round action of The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase at the Baha Mar Convention Center in Nassau, The Bahamas.

Kyle Rode led the Flames with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and pulled down five rebounds. Scottie James had 15 (9-12 FT) and Elijah Cuffee added 12 points.

The Flames improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1991 and just the second time during Liberty's Division I era.

Morgan State (3-3) was handed its first loss to Liberty since 1983, however the Bears still lead the overall series 3-2.

The Bears struggled today offensively, shooting just 28.6 percent (14-49) from the field, 29 percent in the first half. While Liberty hit 3 eight 3s and shot 57.7 percent in the first half, including 54.5 percent for the game. Morgan was held to 3-of-19 from 3-point range and made 17-of-27 free throws.

Isaiah Burke led the Bears with 15 points, his fourth game in scoring in double-figures. He got little help offensively, however, especially in the first half. Troy Baxter had eight points and seven rebounds, Kyson Rawls added seven points and Lagio Grantsaan chipped in six.

The Flames led 17-10 when Troy Baxter hit a 3-pointer and split a pair of free throws to pull the Bears within 3 points (17-14), but Liberty responded with a 24-2 run over the next eight minutes. Liberty led 50-26 at halftime.

The Bears entered the game ranked first in the MEAC in opponents field goal percentage (34.7 percent) and 3-point defense (24.5 percent), but gave up easy baskets for most of the game against the Flames. Liberty had 20 second-chance points and outscored the Bears by a 47-19 margin in the paint.

Next up: The Bears will continue The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase with a matchup against Milwaukee on Saturday (Nov. 23) at 11 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Kyson Rawls: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#15 Isaiah Burke: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

#13 Troy Baxter: F; 6' 9"; Junior

#15 Lagio Grantsaan: F; 6' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#4 Kyson Rawls
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G

#15 Isaiah Burke
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G

#13 Troy Baxter
: 6' 9"; Junior
: F

#15 Lagio Grantsaan
: 6' 8"; Junior
: F