stan1
Carroll Smith
75
Winner Norfolk State NSUM 17-11, 12-1 MEAC
74
MORGAN STATE MSUM 8-17, 3-9 MEAC
Winner
Norfolk State NSUM
17-11, 12-1 MEAC
75
Final
74
MORGAN STATE MSUM
8-17, 3-9 MEAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Norfolk State NSUM 45 30 75
MORGAN STATE MSUM 41 33 74

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

Bears Fall Short To Norfolk State, 75-74

Bear Shots

BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 23, 2019) -- The Morgan State men's basketball team was outlasted by Norfolk State, 75-74, Saturday afternoon in a down to the wire Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) matchup. 
            
Norfolk State's Alex Long missed a pair of free throws with 6.9 seconds left to give the Bears one last shot. However, junior Stanley Davis missed a driving short jumper at the buzzer as the Spartans held on for the victory and extended to a four-game winning streak. 
 
Mastadi Pitt scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and was 3-of-5 from deep to lead Norfolk State. With the win, the Spartans improved to 12-1 in league play, 17-11 overall, and remain two games ahead of second-place North Carolina A&T (10-3) for the regular season title with three games to go.
 
It was a back and forth physical game at Hill Field House in which both teams traded baskets and tied nine times, but only had four lead changes. 
 
The largest lead of the game came with 6:45 to go in the game as Norfolk State was able to go up 66-58, The Bears answered with a 13-3 run to take the lead at 71-68 with 3:03 remaining. It was the Bears first lead since the 6:40 mark of the first half when they were up 31-30.
 
However, when Long made two free throws give the Spartans the lead again at 73-72 with 42 seconds remaining they were able to hold the lead for the rest of the game.
 
Morgan State had two chances to take the lead.

Nic Thomas made two made free throws to increase the Spartans' lead to 75-72.  Freshman Isaiah Burke raced down the court and was able to hit a tough layup while being fouled with 8.9 left. But he missed the game-tying free throw.

Long was then sent to the line in an effort to extend the Bears' chances of winning. Long proceeded to miss both free throws which led to a fast break by the Bears that ended with a missed contested layup by Davis.
 
Morgan State (8-17, 3-9 MEAC) had five players in double-figures. Stanley Davis and Kyson Rawls led the way with 13 points, followed by David Syfax with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sherwyn Devonish-Prince and Isaiah Burke with 11 apiece.
 
Davis also finished with 12 rebounds and notched his fourth double-double of the season.

Morgan State turned 16 Spartan giveaways into a 20-13 edge in points off turnovers, while NSU held a 34-18 advantage in points in the paint.

The Bears shot 39 percent from the field but went 24-of-35 from the line, with 23 of those attempts in the second half.
 
Norfolk State made 54 percent from the floor on 27-of-50 shooting 7-of-18 from deep.

Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman spoke about the game's close finish.

"What you want to do is give yourselves a chance to win, and we did that" said Bozeman. "We gave it a good effort."

"We just have to take the things that we did positive and build on it and keep going," Bozeman added. "The goal at the beginning of the year was always to prepare ourselves for March, so that's what we're doing. Do you want to get victories along the way, Yes. But ultimately, you want to be playing your best by the time you get to March."
 
Morgan State returns to Hill Field House to face the Howard Bison on Monday (Feb. 23). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m in a conference rivalry game. 



 
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