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Game 25
Opponent: Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (3-19, 2-5 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020
Site:  Hill Field House, February 8, 2020
Game Time: 4 p.m. EST
Listen: Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com) 
Live Stream: here
Live Stats: here
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (12-12, 1st yr) • MDES - Jason Crafton (3-19, 1st yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.easternshorehawks.com

SETTING THE STAGE
Morgan State will look to extend to a 4-game winning streak when they host the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks inside Hill Field House on Saturday, February 8. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on morganstatebears.com. The Bears defeated Howard, 89-83, on Saturday in Washington, D.C.  Eastern Shore snapped a 5-game losing streak by recording a 68-66 win at Delaware State on Monday.

THE SERIES
• Saturday's contest will mark the 93rd matchup between the schools ... The Bears lead the series 54-38.
• The Bears last win against Eastern Shore was on Jan. 27, 2020 ... David Syfax had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench and Malik Miller came up just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to help the Bears rally past Maryland Eastern Shore 56-50 for the Bears' second straight victory. Troy Baxter added four blocked shots, four rebounds and two assists for Morgan State, which overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half. Freshman Baltimore product Da'Shawn Phillip (Dunbar HS) led all scorers with 14 points on 6 for 8 shooting with three steals, two assists and a pair of blocks for Eastern Shore (2-19, 1-5 MEAC). Walter Prevost had eight points, while Bryan Urrutia added eight rebounds and five points.
• Freshman guard Isaiah Burke was a spark as the reserve led the Bears with 17 points, but it was Maryland Eastern Shore that pushed through for victory at the Hytche Arena on March 4, 2019. Bryan Urrutia scored a game-high 18 points with seven rebounds and the Hawks held off Morgan State 78-73. Eastern Shore had six players score in double-figures and finished the night by shooting 55 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc. Stanley Davis also came off the bench to score 16 points (6-10 FG) with a game- high 13 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
• Maryland Eastern Shore head coach Jason Crafton (Nyack College, '03) enters his first season as the Hawks head coach ... The 16-year-veteran of coaching spent this past season in the NBA ranks as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers' G-League affiliate Delaware Blue Coats. Prior to that, he was the head coach at his alma mater, Nyack College from 2012-18.
• Eastern Shore finished the 2018-19 season with a 7-25 overall mark and finished with a 5-11 record in conference play ... The Hawks were defeated by South Carolina State, 63-54, in the opening round of the 2019 MEAC Tournament.
• The Hawks don't have a single player averaging in double figures.  AJ Cheeseman, a 6-7 Snellville, Ga. product, leads the team averaging 8.5 ppg, 5.4 rebounds and  is shooting 73.8 percent from the field.
• Ty Gibson also returns for junior season. He is the Hawks second-leading scorer (7.9 ppg).
• Senior point guard Bryan Urrutia returns from injury after missing the team's first 14 games.
• Eastern Shore ranks last in the MEAC in points per game (54.6) and field goal percentage (.358).
• The Hawks look to end their four game losing streak when they host the Bears on Monday night.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE HAWKS
• Eastern Shore got an emotional 68-66 win on Monday evening (Feb. 3) against their Route 13 rival, the Delaware State Hornets. The Hawks got their first road win of the season on Monday night.
• DSU would go on an 8-0 run to take a 64-63 lead at the 1:49 mark. That set the stage for the contest to have three lead changes in the final two minutes.
• AJ Cheeseman was fouled after the team inbounded the ball and walked to the line for a one-and-one. He made the first, missed the second and DSU could only manage a desperation heave off the rebound that fell short to give Eastern Shore the win.
• The Hawks ended their five game losing streak.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
•  Malik Miller had a career-high 19 points (8-13 FG) and eight rebounds, Troy Baxter scored 18 points and Morgan State broke open a close game with a run early in the second half to beat Howard 89-83 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action on Saturday at The Burr Gymnasium
• Stanley Davis added 14 points and four rebounds, while Sherwyn Devonish-Prince had 13 points and six assists for the Bears (12-12, 6-3)
 • Howard had no answer for the Bears' inside game and were outrebounded 37-22. That led to 44 points in the paint and 15 second-chance points for the Bears.

CLOSE CALLS
• The Bears have started the 2019-20 season with a 5-5 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 and Maryland Eastern Shore 56-50...and beat Howard 89-83.
• 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. 

BEAR NOTES: 
Morgan State is shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 28.4 percent from beyond the arc; the Bears shot a season-high 56 percent (33-58) from the field vs. Howard (Feb. 1) ... Stanley Davis currently leads the Bears averaging 13.6 points (No. 8 in MEAC), 5.9 rebounds (No. 11) and 2.1 assists, including a 21-points (8-15 FG) with nine rebounds in 29 minutes versus N.C. A&T (Jan. 20) … Troy Baxter  is averaging 5.7 rebounds and has 47 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 24 games and is averaging 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 32.3 minutes per game ... David Syfax is shooting 45.6 percent from the field and is averaging 7.4 points with 4.3 boards.

AT THE CHARITY LINE
Morgan State is currently shooting 70.4 percent (374-551; ranks No. 3 in MEAC) from the stripe, led by  Stanley Davis is shooting 81.3 percent (91-112; ranks No. 4 in MEAC), Troy Baxter who is shooting 72.3 percent (60-83; ranks No. 10) 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 shot 79.8 percent from the line (79-99; No. 9).

DAVIS CHASIN' 1,000
Senior guard Stanley Davis needs 42 points to reach 1,000 points for his Morgan State career. 
• Following his 13-point effort against Coppin State (Jan. 20), he currently has 958 points in 106 game played.

A ROAD LESS TRAVELED 
Morgan State is 6-6 on the road this season, after going 2-13 on the road during the 2018-19 season.
• The Bears have started the MEAC slate with a 4-2 road record following its 89-83 win at Howard (Feb. 1).
• 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.

40-AND-OVER CLUB
Six of Morgan State's primary shooting threats are at 40 percent or better from the field, led by Malik Miller who is shooting 47-for-93 (50.5%); Stanley Davis who is 113-for-241 (46.9%) from the floor; David Syfax (67-for-147) is at 45.6 percent; Isaiah Burke (71-for-177) is at 40.1 percent; Troy Baxter (90-for-227) is at 40.0 percent; and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince (87-for-216) is at 40.3 percent.

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 MEACTournament 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
            Twitter: @MorganStBears
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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.