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Game 28
Opponent: South Carolina State (11-12, 6-5 MEAC)
Date: Monday, February 17, 2020
Site: Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, Orangeburg, S.C.
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Radio: N/A
Live Stream: n/a
Live Stats: scsubulldogs.com
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (13-14, 1st yr) • SCSU  - Murray Garvin (81-144, 7th year) 
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.scsuathletics.com

SETTING THE STAGE
Morgan State (13-14, 7-5) will travel to face the South Carolina State Bulldogs inside Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center on Monday, February 17. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on scsubulldogs.com. The Bears fell at Norfolk State 62-57 on Saturday night in Echols Memorial Hall.  South Carolina State extended to back-to-back games when they beat Coppin State 70-66 in Orangeburg, S.C.

THE SERIES
• Monday's contest mark the 81st matchup between the schools ... The Bulldogs lead the series 44-36 ... Morgan State has won six of the last nine meetings.
• Morgan State goes for the season sweep over South Carolina State after winning the previous matchup in Baltimore. 
• January 6, 2020 -- Troy Baxter scored 16 points in the second half, including 14-straight to help Morgan State beat South Carolina State 77-63 in the Bears' MEAC home opener. Baxter, who was scoreless (0-4 FG) in the first half, drilled a 3-pointer to give the Bears its first double-digit lead of the night at 49-38 (9:53). It turned out to be just the beginning of 14 consecutive points by Baxter. Malik Miller added 15 points (5-6 FG) and Stanley Davis had 14 points and six rebounds for the Bears.
• South Carolina State's last win against the Bears was on February 9, 2019 in Orangeburg.  Stanley Davis scored 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field to lead four teammates in double-figure scoring for the Bears, who came up short.  Damani Applewhite scored a game-high 21 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 2:07 left, and SCSU rallied to beat Morgan State 85-81. Kyson Rawls scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half to help give the Bears a 39-35 halftime advantage. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Head coach Murray Garvin enters his seventh season leading the South Carolina State men's basketball program in 2019-20. During the 2015-16 season he led the Bulldogs to a 19-15 overall record and advanced to the MEAC Title game and earned MEAC Coach of the Year.
• SCSU finished the 2018-19 season 8-26 overall and 5-10 in MEAC play (8th) ... The Bulldogs ended their season with an 78-73 loss to Norfolk State in the MEAC Tournament quarterfinals.
• The Bulldogs have a 11-12 overall record and are 6-5 in MEAC play. SCSU is coming off a 70-66 conference home win/loss versus Coppin State on Saturday (Feb. 15) and have won two consecutive games.
• The Bulldogs are led by Preseason All-MEAC senior 6-8 forward Damani Applewhite who is averaging 13.7 points (No. 8 in MEAC) and 6.7 rebounds (No. 7) per game and is shooting 52.3 percent from the field (No. 4).
• Tashombe Riley, a 6-7 forward from Orangeburg, is the team's second leading scorer (10.1 ppg), ranks No . 8 in the MEAC in field goal percentage (.489 FG%) and is averaging 4.0 rebounds per contest.
• Junior floor general Rayshawn Neal leads the Bulldogs by dishing 2.8 assists (No. 10 in MEAC) and is chipping in 9.1 points and 3.4 rebounds. 
• Neal has been directly responsible for 41 percent of all South Carolina State field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has 20 field goals and 14 assists in those games.
• SCSU is in the top half of the MEAC in several categories, which include ranking first in free throw percentage (.759) and rebounding defense (33.0), second in FG pct. (.441) and third in scoring offense (71.0).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BULLDOGS
•  Rayshawn Neal posted a season-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead South Carolina State to an, 70-66, victory over visiting Coppin State Saturday (Feb. 15^th) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
• South Carolina built their largest lead 12 at 14:34 mark, dominated in several categories including points in the paint (33-28), bench points (24-4) and rebounds (39-30).
• Coppin State was led by Andrew Robinson with 18 points and seven rebounds.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
•  Jermaine Bishop had 18 points as Norfolk State held off a late rally by Morgan State to earn a 62-57 win on Saturday night.
• Steven Whitley had 14 points and nine rebounds for Norfolk State (12-13, 8-2 Mid-Eastern Conference), which earned its sixth consecutive home victory. Devante Carter added 10 points. Joe Bryant Jr. had six rebounds.
• Malik Miller had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Bears. He also had seven turnovers but only two assists. Stanley Davis added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

CLOSE CALLS
• The Bears have started the 2019-20 season with a 6-7 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...and recently fell to N.C. Central 58-57 and Norfolk State 62-57..
• 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 42.3 percent from the field and 28.5 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 13.3 points (No. 9 in MEAC), 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists, including a 21-point effort in a triple overtime game versus Evansville (Nov. 24) … Troy Baxter  is averaging 5.4 rebounds and has 54 blocked shots (ranks No. 1 in MEAC), including a 5 blocks in his season debut vs. N.C. A&T (Jan. 20) … Sherwyn Devonish-Prince has scored in double figures in 17 of 27 games and is averaging 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 31.4 minutes per game ... David Syfax is shooting 44.4 percent from the field and is averaging 7.3 points with 4.1 boards ... The last time the Bears had at least 13 wins by the month of February 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.

AT THE CHARITY LINE
Morgan State is currently shooting 70.5 percent (421-597; ranks No. 2 in MEAC) from the stripe, led by  Stanley Davis is shooting 80.7 percent (96-119; ranks No. 5 in MEAC), Troy Baxter who is shooting 71.4 percent (27-65; ranks No. 11) and Lagio Grantsaan 78.6 percent (11-14).
• 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 23 points to reach 1,000 points for his Morgan State career. 
• Following his 11-point effort at Norfolk Statel (Feb. 15), he currently has 977 points in 108 games played.

A ROAD LESS TRAVELED 
Morgan State is 5-7 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.

40-AND-OVER CLUB
Five of Morgan State's primary shooting threats are at 40 percent or better from the field, led by Malik Miller (61-for-111) is at 55.0 percent; Stanley Davis who is 120-for-261 (46.0% - ranks 12^th in MEAC) from the floor; David Syfax (71-for-160) is at 44.4 percent; Lagio Grantsaan (52-for-128) is at 40.6 percent; and Jamar Brown (30-69) is at .435.

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.