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Game 7 & 8
Opponent: Norfolk State Spartans (4-3, 0-0)
Date: January 9-10, 2021
Site: Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall, Norfolk, Va.
Game Times: 2 p.m. EST
Live Stats: here | Live Stream: FloHoops.com
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (19-18, 2nd yr) • NSU  - Robert Jones (129-114, 8th yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.nsusports.com

SETTING THE STAGE
• The Morgan State Bears open the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) slate of games this week on the road against the Norfolk State Spartans. The two teams will first meet on Saturday at 2 p.m., before playing again on Sunday, with tip-off also scheduled for 2 p.m. No fans will be allowed in Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall.
• 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 16.5 ppg (No. 2 in MEAC), 4.7 rpg and is shooting 50 percent (13-26; T-No. 14 in the nation) from 3-point territory.
• Junior sharpshooter Lagio Grantsaan has connected on 11 of his last 17 3-pointers and is currently shooting 57.9 percent from beyond the arc (No. 2) and is averaging 11.7 ppg with 4.7 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 ... He currently leads the team with seven blocks (No. 5 in MEAC).
• Malik Miller  is a jack-of-all-trades for the Bears and is  averaging 12.8 ppg (No. 8) and 8.0 rpg (No. 1) ... He was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week on Dec. 22 after racking up 17 rebounds (6.5 avg.), five steals (2.5 avg.) and two blocks (1.0 avg.) in the Bears' six-point win over Delaware and tough six-point loss to West Virginia Tech.
• A couple of transfers could make an impact. Cincinnati transfer Trevor Moore figures to have an immediate impact as well as Sharone Wright Jr. (Wake Forest) and De'Torrion Ware (Jacksonville State).
• This year, the MEAC will split into Northern and Southern Divisions for basketball, and teams will play conference games exclusively within their division.

THE SERIES
• This weekend's contests will mark the 55th and 56th matchups between the schools ... The Spartans lead the series 37-17.
• Norfolk State has won the last three contests at Echols Memorial Hall.
•  Senior forward Kyle Thomas hit the game-winning shot with 30 seconds left and junior forward Phillip Carr had a career-high 29 points with 12 rebounds as Morgan State held on to beat Norfolk State 58-56 at Hill Field House on Jan. 4, 2017.
• Norfolk State's last win against the Bears was on March 5, 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 Thursday night 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.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS (4-3, 0-0 MEAC)
• Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones (SUNY New Paltz, '02) enters his 8th season as the Spartans head coach and his 14^th year overall with the Spartans ... The 2019 MEAC Coach of the Year has led NSU to a .750 winning percentage in conference play and has made five postseason appearances in the six seasons that postseason was played.
• NSU finished the 2019-20 season with a 16-15 overall mark and finished 2nd in MEAC regular season play by posting an 12-4 record before the conference tournament was shut down due to COVID-19.
• NSU received 16 of 22 first-place votes to lead the way in the 2020-21 MEAC Northern Division. Joe Bryant Jr. and Devante Carter earned Preseason All-MEAC honors when the conference announced its preseason teams and predicted order of finish.
• The Spartans have two players averaging in double figures, led by senior 6-3 guard Devante Carter who is one of the top players in the league  averaging 16.1 points (No. 3 in MEAC) and is shooting 46 percent from the field (No. 11). J.J. Matthews, a 6-9 redshirt senior forward from Norfolk, Va., is averaging 10.3 points (No. 15) and is shooting 56 percent from the field (No. 2). Kashaun Hicks, a 6-6 redshirt senior guard is chipping in 8.7 ppg and sophomore Daryl Anderson is adding 7.9 ppg.
• Devante Carter also leads the Spartans on the glass by averaging 5.9 rebounds per game (ranks No. 5 in the MEAC).
• NSU ranks No. 1 in the league in scoring defense (68.6 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.372), 3-point percentage defense (.262), 3-point field goal percentage (.402), and is No. 2 in scoring margin (-1.6).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS
• Jalen Hawkins scored 12 points as part of a second half charge, including the go-ahead layup with 28.1 seconds left in the game, to lead the Norfolk State men's basketball team to a 68-65 upset over George Mason on Saturday afternoon at EagleBank Arena on Dec. 26.
• The Spartans outscored George Mason 11-2 to close out the very first meeting between the two programs.
• Hawkins was one of four Spartans in double figures. He scored all 12 of his second half points after NSU fell behind by 14, 53-39, with 12 minutes left in the game.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
• Junior guard De'Torrion Ware had 18 points with four rebounds off the bench, and Troy Baxter added 15 points as Morgan State rallied to beat James Madison 80-73 on Sunday.
• Ware, a Jacksonville State transfer, went 7 of 17 from the field, including 3 for 9 from 3-point territory. Baxter scored 11 of his 15 points (4-11 FG) in the second half and added five rebounds and a block. Junior Trevor Moore scored 11 points with three assists, and junior Sherwyn Devonish chipped in 10 points (4-6 FG)
• The key Morgan's victory was closing the game on a 14-2 run over the final 2 minute stretch.

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).

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
• Morgan State is currently lead the MEAC in scoring by averaging 75.3 points thru its first 6 games of the 2020-21 season.

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.