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Game 4
Opponent: West Virginia University Institute of Technology (3-4)
Date: Saturday, December 19, 2020
Site: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Time: 2 p.m. EST
Live Stats/Live Stream: morganstatebears.com
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (17-17, 2nd yr) • WVU Tech - James Long (26-12, 2nd yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.goldenbearathletics.com
SETTING THE STAGE
▪️ Morgan State (2-1) will host the WVU Tech Golden Bears (3-3) Saturday afternoon (Dec. 19) in Baltimore. The game will mark the first ever meeting between the schools on the hardwood. Game time is slated for 2 p.m. ET at Hill Field House.
▪️ 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.
▪️ Senior forward Troy Baxter scored a season-high 25 points with seven rebounds in an 83-72 win at Iona (Dec. 8) ... he is currently averaging 18.7 ppg (No. 2 in MEAC), 5.7rpg (No. 5) and is shooting 50 percent (9-18; T-No. 5) from 3-point territory.
▪️ Junior sharpshooter Lagio Grantsaan has connected on 7 of his last 10 3-pointers and is currently shooting 58.3 percent from beyond the arc and is averaging 14.3 ppg with 4.3 rpg.
▪️ 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.
▪️ Malik Miller is a jack-of-all-trades for the Bears and is averaging 15 ppg and 8 rpg ... 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).
▪️ 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.
THE SERIES
▪️ The game will be the first matchup between the schools.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
▪️ WVU Tech, a member of the NAIA, begins the 2nd season under James Long ... Long is currently a member of the men's basketball staff for Coach Bob Huggins at West Virginia University ... Long graduated from WVU Tech with a bachelor's degree in finance. He played for the Mountaineers from 2014-2017 and is a member of the Academic All-Big 12 Men's Basketball First Team. Long earned spots on the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll and Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
▪️ Long was named River States Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Golden Bears to a 23-8 regular season record and a 16-1 Rivers State Conference record and a conference championship. ... The Golden Bears were knocked off by IU Kokomo (Ind.) 73-64 in the River States Tournament semifinals ... The team was set to play in the NAIA National Tournament, however it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
▪️ The Golden Bears have four players averaging double-figures. Sophomore 6-1 guard Darrin Martin leads the way by averaging 18.5 ppg, followed by 6-7 freshman Ty Johnson with 15.7 ppg and senior 6-0 guard Juvante' Hayes who is averaging 14.0 ppg. Sophomore 6-3 guard/forward Andrew Work is adding 10.2 ppg with 5.3 rpg.
▪️ Darrin Martin (4.3 apg) and Juvante' Hayes (4.4 apg) are leading the Golden Bears in assists.
▪️ WVU Tech is averaging 75.5 points per game (8th in RSC), while holding its opponents to 76.3 points (4th).
▪️ The Golden Bears rank No. 2 in the conference in total rebounds defense (32.3) and No. 4 in total rebound margin (2.17).
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE GOLDEN BEARS
WVU Tech men's basketball competed at NCAA DI Youngstown State University Monday, falling 80-66.
▪️Tech was led by sophomore Darrin Martin who finished with 17 points including a 9-for-10 effort from the bonus line. He also posted four assists, two rebounds and two steals.
▪️Senior Tamon Scruggs finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two steals. Scruggs shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
▪️Andreas Jonsson was also 4-for-6 from three-point range, pouring in 12 points for the Golden Bears.
▪️Youngstown State outrebounded Tech 37-28 while the Golden Bears had the edge in shooting from the field, 45.7 percent (21-for-46) compared to 43.3 percent (26-for-60).
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
▪️ Troy Baxter had a game-high 25 points and Lagio Grantsaan scored 22 points, and Morgan State finished with a win to beat Iona 83-72 in the first meeting between the teams since 2001.
▪️ Malik Miller chipped in 11 points with six rebounds and De'Torrion Ware came off the bench to score nine points.
▪️ Defensively, the Bears held Iona to 46.6 percent (27-58) shooting from the field and 6-of-25 shooting from beyond the arc. Morgan also scored 28 points off of 18 turnovers by the Gaels.
▪️ Baxter led Morgan State (2-1) shooting 7 for 17 from the field, 5 for 8 from 3-point territory and he hauled down seven rebounds. Grantsaan scored 17 of his 22 points (8-9 FG) in the first half, including five 3-pointers.
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).
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.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
▪️ Morgan State is currently lead the MEAC in scoring by averaging 80.0 points thru its first 3 games of the 2020-21 season.
▪️ They scored a season-high 102 in a home win vs. Lincoln-Pa. (Dec. 1, 2020).
▪️ Thru 31 games of the 2019-20 season, the Bears averaged 70.4 ppg (ranked No. 6 in MEAC) and shot 42.4 percent from the field (ranks No. 5) and 28.1 percent from beyond the arc (No. 10).
▪️ They scored a season-high 112 in a triple overtime thriller vs. Evansville (Nov. 24, 2019).
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.
• Follow us on social media:
Facebook: /MorganStateBears
Twitter: @MorganStBears
Instagram: /MorganStateBears
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.
