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Game 5
Opponent: Delaware Blue Hens (2-2)
Date: Monday, December 21, 2020
Site: Bob Carpenter Center, Newark, Del.
Game Time: 7 p.m. EST
Live Stats: here | Live Stream: FloHoops.com
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (17-18, 2nd yr) • Delaware  - Martin Inglesby (68-68, 5th yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.bluehens.com

SETTING THE STAGE
▪️ Morgan State (2-2) will travel north to take on the Delaware Blue Hens (2-2) Monday night (Dec. 21) in Newark, Delaware. The game will mark the first ever meeting between the schools on the hardwood. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. ET at the Bob Carpenter Center. No fans will be allowed in the Bob Carpenter Center for that contest.

▪️ 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 15.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg and is shooting 50 percent (10-20) from 3-point territory.

▪️ Junior sharpshooter Lagio Grantsaan has connected on 8 of his last 11 3-pointers and is currently shooting 61.5 percent from beyond the arc and is averaging 14.0 ppg with 4.5 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 leads the team averaging 16 ppg and 7.8 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 BLUE HENS
▪️ Delaware, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), begins the 5th season under Martin Inglesby  ...Ingelsby has led a steady improvement for the Blue Hens, who are one of just three Division I schools to have increased their win total in four consecutive years ... After spending the previous 13 seasons on the Notre Dame coaching staff from 2003-16, Ingelsby led the Blue Hens to 13 victories during his first year in Newark, including a win over Hofstra in the CAA Tournament.

▪️ The Blue Hens finished the 2019-20 season with a 22-11regular season record and went 11-7 in conference action ... The Blue Hens were knocked off by Hoftsra, 75-61, in the CAA Tournament semifinals.

▪️ The Blue Hens have three players averaging double-figures. Senior 6-5 guard Kevin Anderson leads the way by averaging 15 ppg and 4.5 rpg, followed by 6-2 senior Ryan Allen with 14 ppg and sophomore 
6-2 guard Ebby Asamoah who is averaging 10.8 ppg. Redshirt senior 6-10 forward Dylan Painter is adding 9.5 ppg with 9.3 rpg (No. 3 in CAA).

▪️ Ryan Allen (3.0 apg) and Kevin Anderson (3.0 apg) are leading the Blue Hens in assists.

▪️ The Blue Hens are averaging 67.3 points per game (9th in CAA), while holding its opponents to 72 points (4th).

▪️ Delaware was picked second in the CAA Preseason Poll while senior guards Ryan Allen and Kevin Anderson were each named to the CAA Preseason Second Team

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BLUE HENS
Delaware led by four points midway through the second half but then suffered through a long field goal drought, as La Salle took advantage to post a 71-61 win over the Blue Hens Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena.

▪️Ryan Allen paced the Blue Hens with 17 points, while McCoy added career-highs of 11 points and seven rebounds.

▪️Dylan Painter contributed nine points and seven boards, while Kevin Anderson chipped in eight points and five assists.

▪️La Salle outrebounded Delaware 36-34 and had the edge in shooting from the field, 45.6 percent (26-for-57) compared to the Blue Hens' 39.2 percent (20-for-51).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
▪️ Morgan State men's basketball battled down the stretch, but ultimately came up short in a 73-67 loss in Hill Field House on Saturday.

▪️ Malik Miller paced the Bears with 19 points on a 6-for-13 shooting night and also finished with a team-high seven rebounds and four steals.

▪️ The Bears were held to 44.4 percent (24-54) shooting from the field and 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Morgan scored 24 points off of 24 turnovers by WVU Tech.

▪️ Trevor Moore and senior Lagio Grantsaan scored 13 points apiece, while junior Sharone Wright chipped in eight points with five rebounds.

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 leading the MEAC in scoring by averaging 76.8 points thru its first 4 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. 
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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.