Morgan State University Athletics

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Game 14
Opponent: Loyola Marymount Lions (6-7)
Date: Saturday, December 28, 2019
Site:  Gersten Pavilion, Los Angeles, Calif.
Game Time: 10 p.m. EST
Live Stats: here | Live Video: here
Radio: KXLU 88.9FM - here
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (5-8, 1st yr) • LMU - Mike Dunlap (76-94 6th yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.lmulions.com

SETTING THE STAGE
Morgan State (5-8) returns to action for a west coast matchup against the Loyola Marymount Lions on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 10 p.m. (EST) inside Gersten Pavilion. The game will be broadcast on the KXLU, 88.9 FM in Los Angeles.

THE SERIES
• The series is tied 2-2.
• LMU won the last meeting between the teams on Dec. 26, 2016. Steven Haney scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half to help the Lions beat Morgan State 70-49 at Gersten Pavilion. Haney scored 18 of LMU's first 22 points of the second half -- with four 3-pointers. Phillip Carr recorded his fifth double-double of the season by finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Morgan State (3-9). Antonio Gillespie added a season-high 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Martez Cameron chipped in six assists.
• Morgan State's last win against LMU was on Dec. 21, 2011. Four Bears scored in double figures and Morgan State hit 47.4 percent from the field to pull away from Loyola Marymount, 69-45 at Hill Field House. Junior swingman DeWayne Jackson led MSU with a game-high 14 points and eight rebounds, while Larry Bastfield finished with 13 points, and Kevin Thompson and Ameer Ali posted 12 and 10 points respectively. 

SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Head coach Mike Dunlap, a 1980 graduate of LMU, returns for his sixth season as the Lions' head coach. His college coaching experience also includes five seasons with the Lions (1980-85), one season at the University of Iowa (1985-86) and three seasons at the University of Southern California (1986-89).
• LMU snapped a 2-game losing skid by posting a 53-46 win over Cal State Fullerton.
• Eli Scott, a 6-6 forward from Chino Hills, Calif., is the team's leading scorer and rebounder averaging 17.3 points and 6.6 rebounds  ... he is also shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 65.9 percent from the stripe.
• Ivan Alipiev is the only other Lion averaging double-figures ... The 6-8 forward from Sofia, Bulgaria, is averaging 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds.
• LMU leads the West Coast Conference in field goal percentage (.506), ranks third in rebounding defense (30.7 avg) and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.378).
• The Lions have seven international players on their roster: Lazar Nekic (Belgrade, Serbia) , Jonathan Dos Anjos (Curitiba, Brazil), Erik Johansson (Sodertalje, Sweden), Lazar Zivanovic (Sabac, Serbia), Keli Leaupepe (Melbourne, Australia), Ivan Alipiev (Sofia Bulgaria) and Seikou Sisoho Jawara (Mataro, Barcelona).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LIONS
• Eli Scott lifted LMU men's basketball to a second-half comeback, scoring 26 in the 53-46 win. 
• Despite scoring only 53 points, the Lions held Cal State Fullerton to a season-low 46 points. LMU shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to outscore the Titans by 13 in the final 20 minutes.
• LMU trailed the Titans by six, 23-17, at intermission.
• Erik Johansson hit LMU's only three-point field goal with 2:01 remaining in the game to extend LMU's lead to 45-39. The Lions finished 1-for-11 from long range after missing their first 10.
• LMU scored more than double CSUF's points in the paints, winning the scoring battle in the key, 32-16.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
• Senior guard Stanley Davis had a season-high 28 points with 11 rebounds to lead Morgan State to a 96-72 victory over Chestnut Hill College at Hill Field House.
• Davis, who recorded his first double-double of the season, connected on 9 of 14 shots from the floor and was 8 of 9 from the free throw line.
• Morgan State (5-8) led from start to finish, jumping out to a double-figure lead by the time Troy Baxter buried a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 12-1 lead with 16:20 left in the first half. 
• Sophomore guard Sherwyn Devonish-Prince finished with 16 points (8-13 FG), junior forward Troy Baxter added 14 points and nine boards, and sophomore guard Isaiah Burke had 10 points and four assists.

CLOSE CALLS
• The Bears have started the 2019-20 season with a 1-3 record in games decided by 10 points or fewer, with a 71-65 loss to Saint Francis, followed by a 68-64 win at George Washington, and two close losses in The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase vs Milwaukee (62-57) and Evansville (115-112 3OT).
• After falling 81-71 on March 12 versus #7 seed Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament, Morgan State played 21 games during the 2019-20 season that was decided by 10 points or fewer. Of those games 17 were decided by seven points or fewer, including six by three points or fewer.

BEAR NOTES: 
Morgan State is shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 27.5 percent from beyond the arc; the Bears shot a season-high 52 percent (25-48) from the field vs. Longwood (Dec. 7) ... Stanley Davis currently leads the Bears averaging 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists, including a 21-point effort in a triple overtime game versus Evansville (Nov. 24) … Troy Baxter posted his first double-double of the season during the win at George Washington (Nov. 16) … Baxter is averaging 6.3 rebounds and has 20 blocked shots (1.8 bpg), including a 5 blocks in his season debut vs. Central Penn (Nov. 6) … Sherwyn Devonish-Prince has scored in double figures in 9 of 11 games and is averaging 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 32.6 minutes per game ... David Syfax is 16-for-23 from the free throw line and is shooting 40 percent from the field and is averaging 6.0 points with 2.8 boards.  

AT THE CHARITY LINE
Morgan State is currently shooting 70.0 percent (198-283) from the stripe, led by  Kyson Rawls who is shooting 83.3 percent (20-24). Stanley Davis 81.5 percent (53-65) and Lagio Grantsaan is shooting 77.8 percent (7-9). 
• The Bears completed the 2018-19 season ranked No. 4 in the conference in free throw percentage by shooting 71.3 percent (477-669) from the line. 
• Sherwyn Devonish-Prince led the MEAC by shooting 86.6 percent (97-112 FT), followed by Kyson Rawls who shot 82.1 percent from the line
(64-78; No. 5) and Stanley Davis is shooting 79.8 percent from the line (79-99; No. 9).

OPPONENTS ATTACKING FROM DOWNTOWN 
Morgan State's opponents have made at least eight three-pointers in six of their last eight games. 
• La Salle made 12 three-pointers against the Bears on Dec. 14 to Morgan's three. 
• In its first 13 games, Morgan has made 63 three-pointers (4.8 per game) to its opponents' 94 three-pointers (7.2 per game). 
• Morgan has been outscored by 93 points from three-point range this season for an average of 7.1 points per game. 
• The Bears' opponents have scored 29.3 percent of their points this season from three-point range.

DAVIS CHASIN' 1,000
Senior guard Stanley Davis needs 180 points to reach 1,000 points for his Morgan State career. Following his season-high 28-point effort against Chestnut Hill (Dec. 16), he currently has 820 points.

WHO'S OUT
Tyler Streeter (Chicago, Ill./St. Francis de Sales HS), Antonio Gillespie (Memphis, Tenn./Memphis Central HS) and Martez Cameron (Chicago, Ill./Montverde Academy) wrapped up their collegiate careers and graduated last spring.

WHO'S BACK
The Bears return three starters from last year's team, bringing back guards Stanley Davis and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince, Jr and forward David Syfax. MSU also returns guards Isaiah Burke, Kyson Rawls, and Malik Miller, along with forwards LaPri McCray-Pace, Victor Curry and Malik Miller.

WHO'S IN 
The Bears have added several newcomers to the 2019-20 roster: F Troy Baxter; F Victor Okafor; G Thai're Vance; F Lagio Grantsaan; F Peter Sorber; G Cameron Shaw; F Jamar Brown.

RETURNING PRODUCTION NUMBERS 
Morgan State returns 75.6 percent of its scoring, 67.8 percent of its rebounding and 69.0 percent of its minutes played totals from last year's team. The team leaders in field goal percentage (Stanley Davis - .454 ), three-point percentage (Isaiah Burke, .370), free throw percentage (Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr., .866), rebounding (David Syfax - 4.6 rpg), assists (Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr., 2.2), steals (Stanley Davis, 1.1),  blocked shots (David Syfax, 0.6). and minutes played (Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr., 28.0).  Five (5) players who started in at least five (5) games a year ago also return - Devonish (30), Davis (25), Syfax (17 ), Curry (9), and McCray-Pace (8).

HOME GROWN 
Morgan State has seven players from the DMV (D.C., Maryland & Metropolitan-D.C.) area. Sophomore point guard Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. is from Bladensburg, Md. and graduated from Wise HS. Sophomore guard Isaiah Burke is from Annapolis and was a prep standout at Bowie HS, while senior forward Taron Oliver, Jr. played for Montrose Christian and is from District Heights, Md. Sophomore guard Malik Miller hails from Washington, D.C. and played at Friendship Tech Prep. Junior forward Victor Okafor is from Greenbelt, Md. and played at Eleanor Roosevelt HS. Freshman guard Thai're Vance is a product of Silver Spring, Md. and played at DeMatha Catholic HS. Cameron Shaw is a freshman guard from Baltimore who played at Loyola Blakefield HS.

BROADUS' STAFF
Morgan State head basketball coach Kevin Broadus' coaching staff enters their first season. The Bears coaching staff consists of assistant coaches Brian Merritt, Chretien Lukusa and Kevin Jones.
• Merritt  joins the Bears after serving the last two seasons as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations at LSU. Merritt, a native of St. Mary's County, Maryland, joined LSU prior to the 2017-18 season after serving as Director of Scouting/Recruiting for John Lucas Enterprises.
• Lukusa was previously spent five years on Binghamton's staff, including a pair of seasons on the coaching side. A 2011 Binghamton graduate who also earned his master's degree at the University, Lukusa returned to the program in 2014. After serving two seasons as the coordinator of player development, Lukusa earned a promotion to assistant coach in Summer 2016. 
• Jones was previously the assistant director of basketball operations and video coordinator at Radford University (2018-19) where he oversaw all things video and technology. Prior to Radford, Jones was an assistant coach at Norfolk State (2015-18) where he helped guide the Spartans to back-to-back second-place finishes in the MEAC and coached three All-MEAC guards.

THE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The Bears will play three nonconference games against teams that made the NCAA tournament last season, including Temple (Nov. 9 in the road opener), Liberty (Nov. 22 in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase) and Ohio State (Nov. 29). There's a Nov. 16 trip to George Washington to get the Bears a nonconference game in Washington, and the annual showdown with crosstown foe Towson is Dec. 4 at Hill Field House.

PREDICTED TO FINISH EIGHTH IN THE MEAC
The Morgan State men's basketball team has been tabbed to finish eigth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason Men's Basketball Poll the league announced.
• The Bears return three starters from last year's team, bringing back guards Stanley Davis and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince, Jr and forward David Syfax. MSU also returns guards Isaiah Burke, Kyson Rawls, and Malik Miller, along with forwards LaPri McCray-Pace, Victor Curry and Malik Miller.  
•MSU was selected to finish eighth in 2019-20, earning 101 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. North Carolina Central (203 points), who captured its third straight MEAC Tournament championship last season, edged out Bethune-Cookman (198 points) for first place honors, followed by defending regular-season champion Norfolk State.
• Eight (8) Bears are back from a team that placed 10th in the MEAC. Morgan State finished the year 6-7 in the conference and 9-21 overall. MSU's season ended with an 81-71 loss to Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament first round.
• The 2020 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips off March 10-14 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.  For more information about the MEAC and its sponsored sports, log on to www.MEACSports.com.

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC SELECTIONS
The Morgan State men's basketball team had a pair of Bears selected to the 2019-20 Preseason All-MEAC Team. Senior guard Stanley Davis was selected to the Second Team, while sophomore guard Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. was named to the Third Team.
• The most proven player on the roster is senior Stanley Davis, who led Morgan State in both scoring (12.5 per game) and rebounding (7.1). The latter number ranked seventh in the MEAC last season.
• Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. earned a place on the MEAC All-Rookie team by averaging 10.7 points as a true freshman.

BEARS TO HONOR ELIJAH CUMMINGS THROUGHOUT 2019-20 SEASON
Throughout the 2019-20 season, the Morgan State Bears student-athletes will celebrate the life of longtime Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings, who passed away on October 17, 2019, at the age of 68. In honor of Congressman Cummings and all of his many positive contributions to the University and his district, all Morgan State athletic teams will wear a special commemorative "EC" patch on their jerseys throughout the season. The Bears football team helmets will also be adorned with an EC decal.
• "Our department wanted to do something to recognize the many important contributions of the Honorable Elijah Cummings to the country, the City of Baltimore and Morgan State University," said Director of Athletics Edward Scott, Ph.D. "In speaking with our student-athletes, coaches and staff, we felt that the patches and decals would be the most appropriate way of demonstrating our appreciation to Regent Cummings and his family."
• The patch is a black circle with the initials "EC" in the center in orange letters and outlined in white. 
• Congressman Cummings has a long history with Morgan State University and over the years has been one of its most staunch supporters. In addition to hosting many of his youth workshops and annual career fairs at Morgan, he also served on the University's Board of Regents for 19 years after having been appointed in July 1999 (he missed one year due to other commitments at the time).

FOLLOW US IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:

            Facebook: /MorganStateBears
            Twitter: @MorganStBears
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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.