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Game 20
Opponent: Howard Bison (2-16, 0-4 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, January 18, 2020
Site:  Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Time: 4 p.m. EST
Live Stream: here
Live Stats: here
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (8-11, 1st yr) • HU  - Kenneth Blakeney (2-16, 1st yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.hubison.com

SETTING THE STAGE
Morgan State (8-11, 2-2) will look to snap a 2-game losing skid when they welcome the Howard Bison to Hill Field House on Saturday, January 18. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. 

THE SERIES
• Saturday's contest will mark the 110th matchup between the schools ... The Bears lead the series 64-45.
• Morgan State held a first half lead against Howard, but were unable to withstand the Bison's strong second half as they fell 75-69 on Feb. 25, 2019 at Hill Field House. RJ Cole scored a game-high 19 points to help rally the Bison to victory. Cole, the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, also finished the game with six steals, five rebounds, and four assists. The Bears had three players in double-digits led by David Syfax. The junior forward scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to tie his season-high. Freshman guard Isaiah Burke finished with 13 points, and sophomore guard Kyson Rawls added 12 (3-5 3FG). Stanley Davis finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and scored six points.
• Morgan State's last win against the Bison was on Jan. 15, 2019 --  Junior guard Stanley Davis hit the go-ahead free throw with 48 seconds left in overtime, and the Morgan State Bears outlasted the Howard Bison for an 89-86 victory Tuesday night at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C. Davis helped the Bears end a seven-game road losing streak and a two-game skid when he scored five of his team-high 21 points in the extra session. David Syfax finished with a season-high 16 points (6-6 FT), seven rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench. Sophomore guard Kyson Rawls added 17 points, and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince had 18 points.

SCOUTING THE BISON
• Head coach Kenneth Blakeney enters his first season leading the Howard men's basketball program in 2019-20. He has coached at seven Division I universities over a 12-year span. Blakeney was a McDonalds All- American and Gatorade Player of the Year at the famed DeMatha Catholic HS, and played at Duke under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
• Howard finished the 2018-19 season 17-17 overall and 10-6 in MEAC play ... The Bison fell to #1 seed Norfolk State (75-69)  in the 2019 MEAC semifinals ... they lost to Coastal Carolina, 81-72, in  the Roman CBI Tournament.
• The Bison, who were picked to finish sixth in the MEAC Preseason Poll, currently have a 2-16 overall and 0-4 MEAC record following a 101-95 overtime loss versus  South Carolina State on Monday (Jan. 13).
• Howard is led by senior 6-6 guard Charles Williams and 6-6 freshman Wayne Bristol Jr. Williams, named to Preseason First Team All-MEAC, is averaging 18.9 points (ranks No. 3 in MEAC), 4.7 rebounds and is shooting 40 percent from the field. Bristol, an Upper Marlboro, Md. product (St. Thomas School), is averaging 10.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and is shooting 38% from 3-point territory.
• Zion Cousin, a junior 6-8 forward from Upper Marlboro, Md. (Douglass HS), is averaging 7.7 rebounds (ranks No. 4) along with 6.9 points and 11 blocks  in 18 games for the Bison.
• Freshman 5-11 guard Khalil Robinson is also contributing for the Bison. The Columbia, S.C. native is currently averaging 6.1 points, 2.9 assists (No. 7), 2.3 rebounds and leads the Bison with 1.0 steals.
• 6-foot-1 point guard Ian Lee was featured in The Undefeated  - click here
• Howard leads the MEAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.0) and ranks No. 3 in the MEAC in 3-point field goal percentage (.321) and No. 4 in assists (12.9 avg).
• Howard's last MEAC win came against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 80-71 on March 14, 2019.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BISON
• Damani Applewhite's jumper with midway through overtime sparked a closing run that carried South Carolina State to a 101-95 win over Howard on Monday.
• Applewhite put the Bulldogs in front for good, 90-89. Tashombe Riley knocked down a jumper and, after Wayne Bristol Jr. pulled the Bison within a point, Zacchaeus Sellers hit a 3 and Tariq Simmons and Jahmari Etienne each hit a pair from the line to make it 99-91 with :25 left to put the game out of reach.
• Charles Williams scored 34 points to lead Howard (2-16, 0-4). Zion Cousins added 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Bristol and Kyle Foster each contributed 10 points.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
•  Cletrell Pope scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, Leon Redd scored a go-ahead 3-pointer and Bethune-Cookman finished on a 12-5 run to beat Morgan State 85-78 on Monday night. 
• Morgan State had four players in double digits, including Troy Baxter who played 36 minutes and finished with 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting and led the Bears with seven rebounds. David Syfax came off the bench and scored a season-high 16 points and was 4 of 5 from 3-point territory. Stanley Davis added 12 points and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince had 10.
 • Baxter split a pair of free throws with just under a minute remaining to cut the lead to 78-76, but the Wildcats answered when Wali Parks hit a 3-pointer to put his team up 81-76. 

CLOSE CALLS
• The Bears have started the 2019-20 season with a 2-4 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). The Bears posted a 74-71 win at Loyola Marymount and fell to Bethune-Cookman 85-78.
• 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 43.9 percent from the field and 28.7 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 13.7 points (No. 7 in MEAC), 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 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 5.8 rebounds and has 33 blocked shots (ranks No. 1 in MEAC), including a 5 blocks in his season debut vs. Central Penn (Nov. 6) … Sherwyn Devonish-Prince has scored in double figures in 15 of 19 games and is averaging 10.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 32.3 minutes per game ... David Syfax is shooting 46.4 percent from the field and is averaging 7.1 points with 3.6 boards ... Morgan State has won its last three home games, scoring an average of 82 points while giving up 66.7.

AT THE CHARITY LINE
Morgan State is currently shooting 71.7 percent (306-427; ranks No. 2 in MEAC) from the stripe, led by  Stanley Davis is shooting 82.6 percent (71-86; ranks No. 5 in MEAC), Lagio Grantsaan 83.3 percent (10-12) and Kyson Rawls who is shooting 79.3 percent (23-29).
• 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).

DAVIS CHASIN' 1,000
Senior guard Stanley Davis needs 107 points to reach 1,000 points for his Morgan State career. 
• Following his 12-point effort against Bethune-Cookman (Jan. 13), he currently has 893 points in 100 game played.

A ROAD LESS TRAVELED 
Morgan State is 3-6 on the road this season, after going 2-13 on the road during the 2018-19 season. The last time MSU finished over .500 on the road (12-7) was during the 2010 season.

NON-CONFERENCE RECAP 
Morgan State went 6-9 in non-conference play, the most non-conference wins since a 2017-18 season in which the Bears held a 6-10 non-conference mark. Prior to that, MSU had not won at least six non-conference games since the 2012-13 season (7-9). 
• MSU played seven teams that are .500 or better and five of its opponents have won eight or more games. 
• MSU went 4-2 at home, 2-4 in road games and 0-3 in neutral site games.

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).

MORGAN STATE 'GRIT'
The Morgan State athletic department has adopted the slogan GRIT for the 2019-20 athletic campaign. GRIT, which stands for Growth, Resiliency, Integrity and Teamwork, was introduced by Morgan State Director of Athletics Dr. Edward Scott at the start of the Fall semester. GRIT will define all 15 of Morgan State's athletic teams on and off the field of play this season.

2020 MEAC TOURNAMENT
The 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 9-14 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Ticket books can be purchased at all 12 MEAC university ticket offices, the Norfolk Scope Arena, Ticketmaster outlets, the MEAC Administrative Office and online at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available by calling the MEAC at 757-951-2055 or Ticketmaster at (800)-745-3000. The annual MEAC Basketball Tournament moved to Norfolk in 2013 after spending the previous four years in Winston-Salem, N.C. from 2009 through 2012.

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
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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.