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Game 1
Opponent: Mount Saint Mary's (Md.) (0-0)
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Site: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Time: 12 p.m. EST
Live Stats/Live Stream: MorganStateBears.com
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (15-16, 2nd yr) • Mount - Dan Engelstad (20-43, 3rd yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.mountathletics.com
SETTING THE STAGE
• Morgan State will host Mt. Saint Mary's (Md.) in the 2020-21 season-opener Wednesday (Nov. 25) in Baltimore. The game will mark the 10th meeting between the schools on the hardwood with The Mount leading the series by a 6-3 margin. Game time is slated for 12 p.m. ET at Hill Field House.
• The contest will be streamed live on MorganStateBears.com and broadcast by the Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com).
• Kevin Broadus enters his second year at the helm of the Morgan State Bears. The Bears won 15 games in his debut season, their most since 2013-14, finished sixth in the MEAC
• Junior guards Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. averaged 10.0 points and Isaiah Burke averaged 7.9 points and made 38 3-pointers a season ago.
• Last season, Troy Baxter had 58 blocked shots (ranked No. 2 in MEAC) in 31 games and averaged 5.1 rebounds per game as a junior... he also averaged 10.2 points .
• Malik Miller was a jack-of-all-trades for the Bears last season ... He was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week (March 3) as a result of recording a career-high 18 rebounds with 14 points, three steals and three assists against Coppin State (Feb. 29) ... He completed his sophomore season averaging 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.
• A couple of transfers could make an impact. Troy Holston has played at both South Florida and Saint Joseph's and is a capable shooter. Cincinnati transfer Trevor Moore figures to have an immediate impact as well as Sharone Wright Jr. (Wake Forest) and De'Torrion Ware (Jacksonville State).
2020-21 HOME PROTOCOLS
The 2020-21 seasons will begin without spectators in attendance at Hill Field House Arena.
• The men's and women's basketball programs will adhere to NCAA guidelines and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference policies and procedures, including COVID-19 testing protocols, while also operating in alignment with state and local public health officials.
• Hill Field House will operate with limited access only to include essential staff and personnel, including participating teams. Capacity restrictions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and adjusted as allowed as public health conditions improve as public health conditions and recommendations improve.
DAVIS GONE
The Bears will look to offset the loss of graduated Stanley Davis, who led the Bears in scoring 13.7 points (ranked No. 9 in MEAC), rebounds (6.0 rpg - No. 8) and assists (2.5) a season ago.
THE SERIES
• Wednesday's contest will mark the 10th matchup between the schools ... The Mount leads the series 6-3.
• MSU has won the last two meetings (Nov. 25, 2018, Nov. 27, 2017).
• Martez Cameron scored 15 points, Tyler Streeter scored 14 and Morgan State kept Mt. St. Mary's winless with a 78-68 win on Nov. 25, 2018. Mt. St. Mary's (0-6) struggled to protect the ball committing 26 turnovers. For their part, the Bears committed 30 personal fouls and the Mountaineers, 24. Mount, however, made just 25 of 41 foul shots (61 percent). Mount had a 51-33 rebounding advantage.
• The Mount's last win against Morgan State was on Feb. 7, 1984 ... The Bears fell 90-80.
SCOUTING THE MOUNT
• Dan Engelstad was named the 22nd head coach in Mount St. Mary's men's basketball program history on May 9, 2018. Engelstad, a former assistant coach at the Mount under Milan Brown, spent the last five seasons at the helm of Southern Vermont College (SVC) in Bennington, Vermont, where he led a remarkable turnaround and helped carry the program to new heights. The Bethesda, Maryland native posted a 104- 34 (.754) career record at SVC, was named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Coach of the Year three times, and helped guide the program to a pair of NECC Championships, including the school's first-ever title in 2016.
• The Mount returns four starters from last year's team that finished 11-21 overall and 7-11 in NEC play. The Mountaineers were edged by Sacred Heart, 61-59, in the NEC Quarterfinals.
• Junior guard Damian Chong Qui was selected to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference Team while the Mount men's basketball team tied for third in the annual NEC Preseason Coaches Poll. Chong Qui was the NEC's Most Improved Player and a Third Team All-NEC selection last year. He averaged 12.2 points, 3.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Mountaineers. He is the first Mountaineer to be named Preseason All-NEC since Junior Robinson in 2017-18.
• Mount St. Mary's added six newcomers to their 2020-21 roster. Coach Dan Engelstad and staff added four freshmen and two transfers (Mezie Offrum - George Washington / Deandre Thomas - Samford) .
• The Mount have a set of twins on the roster. Junior forwards Jalen and Malik Jefferson are Hopewell, Virginia products. Malik started in every game (32) and averaged 9.7 ppg and 7.1 rpg last year, while his twin came off the bench in 22 games and averaged 1.2 ppg and 1.7 rpg.
• Junior 6-3 guard Jalen Gibbs returns to the backcourt for The Mount. Gibbs was the team's second leading scorer a season ago and averaged 11.3 ppg with 3.6 rpg and shot 37 percent from the field.
• Last season, The Mount ranked No. 2 in the NEC in scoring (66.6 avg), No. 4 in field goal percentage defense (.432) and ranks No. 4 in rebounding margin (35.0).
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
• March 6, 2020 -- Isaiah Burke finished with 15 points to lead four Bears in double figures, however the Norfolk State Spartans withstood a late rally to post a 68-62 win at Hill Field House to spoil the Morgan State's senior night celebration.
• Jermaine Bishop had a game-high 21 points to lead the Spartans (16-15, 12-4) and Joe Bryant added 12 points and four assists.
• Burke shot 5-of-16 overall and hit five of the team's six 3-pointers on the night. Malik Miller, the reigning MEAC Defensive Player of the Week, recorded his fourth double-double of the season by finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Stanley Davis had 14 points and seven rebounds, while David Syfax chipped in 11 points.
BEAR NOTES:
In 2019-20, Morgan State is shot 42.7 percent from the field (ranks No. 4 in MEAC) and 28.1 percent from beyond the arc; the Bears shot a season-high 52 percent (25-48) from the field vs. Longwood (Dec. 7) ... Stanley Davis led the Bears averaging 13.7 points (No. 9 in MEAC), 6.0 rebounds (No. 8) and 2.4 assists (No. 12), including a 21-point effort in a triple overtime game versus Evansville (Nov. 24) … Troy Baxter is averaged 5.1 rebounds and has 58 blocked shots (ranked No. 2 in MEAC), including a 5 blocks in his season debut vs. N.C. A&T (Jan. 20) … Sherwyn Devonish-Prince scored in double figures in 19 of 30 games and averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 31.6 minutes per game ... Jamar Brown shot 44.8 percent from the field and averaged 4.3 points with 3 boards ... The last time the Bears had at least 15 wins was during the 2009-10 season in which MSU finished with a 27-10 record, won the MEAC Title and played West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.
CLOSE CALLS
• The Bears finished the 2019-20 season with a 7-9 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, fell to Bethune-Cookman 85-78 and N.C. A&T 76-70, and rallied to beat Coppin State 50-48, Maryland Eastern Shore 56-50 and 61-53, and Howard 89-83, fell to N.C. Central 58-57 and Norfolk State 62-57 ... they beat South Carolina State 78-72 and Delaware State 90-80 and recently lost to Coppin State 72-65 and Norfolk State 68-62.
• After falling 81-71 on March 12 versus #7 seed Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament, Morgan State played 21 games during the 2018-19 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.
AT THE CHARITY LINE
Morgan State shot 69.7 percent (492-709; ranked No. 4 in MEAC) from the stripe, led by Stanley Davis who shot 78.4 percent (109-139; ranked No. 6 in MEAC), Troy Baxter shot 71.4 percent (65-91; ranked No. 11) and Isaiah Burke 70.8 percent (34-48).
• 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.
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.
AT THE HELM
Kevin Broadus enters his second year at the helm as Morgan State's 16th head coach of the men's basketball program effective May 1, 2019.
• The Bears won 15 games in his debut season, their most since 2013-14, finished sixth in the MEAC.
• Broadus came to Morgan from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was one of the nation's best recruiters as the top assistant on Mark Turgeon's coaching staff.
• He was consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally for recruiting, Broadus was instrumental in signing a number of local Baltimore talents such as DeJuan Summers, Brandon Herbert, LaFonta Johnson, and Henry Sims.
WHO'S OUT
Stanley Davis (Chester, Pa.), David Syfax Jr. (Detroit, Mich.) and Victor Curry (Chicago, Ill.) wrapped up their collegiate careers and graduated last spring. Davis ranks No. 24 on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,044 points -- passing Tiwian Kendley (No. 26 - 1,032 pts) and James Turk (No. 25 - 1,035 pts).
WHO'S BACK
The Bears return four starters from last year's team, bringing back guards Isaiah Burke and Sherwyn Devonish and forwards Troy Baxter and Jamar Brown. MSU also returns guard Malik Miller, Tahj-Malik Campbell, Thai're Vance, Moel Camara, along with forwards Victor Okafor, Lagio Grantsaan and Peter Sorber.
WHO'S IN
The Bears have added several newcomers to the 2020-21 roster: G Naseem Kaalid, G Sharone Wright Jr., G De'Torrion Ware, G Trevor Moore and G Troy Holston.
RETURNING PRODUCTION NUMBERS
Morgan State returns 65.7 percent of its scoring, 59.6 percent of its rebounding and 68.5 percent of its minutes played totals from last year's team. The team leaders in field goal percentage (Jamar Brown - .448), three-point percentage (Isaiah Burke, .390), free throw percentage (Lagio Grantsaan, .815), rebounding (Malik Miller - 5.4 rpg), assists (Sherwyn Devonish, 2.2), steals (Malik Miller, 1.0), blocked shots (Troy Baxter, 1.9). and minutes played (Sherwyn Devonish, 31.7). Six (5) players who started in at least five (5) games a year ago also return - Devonish (31), Baxter (26), Burke (23 ), Brown (17), Miller (11) and Okafor (8).
HOME GROWN
Morgan State has eight players from the DMV (D.C., Maryland & Metropolitan-D.C.) area. Junior guard Sherwyn Devonish is from Bladensburg, Md. and graduated from Wise HS. Junior guard Isaiah Burke is from Annapolis and was a prep standout at Bowie HS, while junior guard Moel Camara is from Baltimore and played at Baltimore City C.C. Junior guard Malik Miller hails from Washington, D.C. and played at Friendship Tech Prep. Redshirt freshman forward Josiah Marable is also a D.C. product who was a standout at Woodrow Wilson HS. Senior forward Victor Okafor is from Greenbelt, Md. and played at Eleanor Roosevelt HS. Sophomore guard Thai're Vance is a product of Silver Spring, Md. and played at DeMatha Catholic HS. Elijah Bowens is a junior guard from Bowie who transferred from Christopher Newport University.
BROADUS' STAFF
Morgan State head basketball coach Kevin Broadus' coaching staff enters their second season. The Bears coaching staff consists of assistant coaches Brian Merritt, Chretien Lukusa and Kevin Jones.
• Merritt enters his second season on the Bears staff 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 enters his second season at Morgan State and 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, who is also in his second season at MSU, 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 BAXTER EFFECT
In his first season as a Bear, Troy Baxter finished second on the team in scoring (10.2) and third in minutes played (26.4 per game) last season. He averaged 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, while starting 26 of the 30 games played. He ranked second in the MEAC in blocks, 11th in free throw percentage (.714), and 15th in defensive rebounding (3.9),
• A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Baxter reached double figures in scoring 15 times and had two double-doubles. He recorded a season-high five blocked shots during the Bears win against Central Penn on Nov. 6, 2019. He scored a season-high 30 points (9-17 FG) and grabbed 10 rebounds and two blocks in 46 minutes during a triple-overtime loss against Evansville in The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase (Nov. 24). Baxter completed the season with a team-high 23 dunks.
• He was selected to the 2020-21 Preseason All-MEAC second team.
PREDICTED TO FINISH SECOND IN THE MEAC
The Morgan State men's basketball team has been tabbed to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Men's Basketball Northern Division Poll.
• Morgan State was picked to finish second, followed by the Howard Bison, who made a splash in the offseason with the addition of preseason First Team honoree Makur Maker. Coppin State was picked to finish third, while Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore rounded out the division.
• The Bears return four starters from last year's team, bringing back guards Sherwyn Devonish-Prince, Jr. and Isaiah Burke, along with forwards Baxter and Jamar Brown. Also back is guard Malik Miller and forward Lagio Grantsaan.
• 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.
• The 2021 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips off March 8-13 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. For more information about the MEAC and its sponsored sports, log on to www.MEACSports.com.
HOW TO WATCH GAMES: All men's and women's basketball home games will be video streamed for free through the MorganStateBears.com website. The latest broadcast and video stream information will always be listed on men's and women's basketball schedule pages at MorganStateBears.com.
MEN'S & WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RADIO: All home games and select away games for MSU men's and women's basketball will once again be available through Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com). Lamont Germany will handle play-by-play responsibilities and will also host pre-game and post-game shows. Including exclusive interviews with members of the teams and women's coach Ed Davis and men's coach Kevin Broadus. Fans can download the HSRN app for free and listen to the MSU broadcasts from anywhere. Simply search for HSRN when using the iHeartRadio app.
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.
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Facebook: /MorganStateBears
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 126 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.
