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Game 16-17
Opponent: Norfolk State Spartans (10-7, 5-4)
Date: February 13-14, 2021
Site: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Times: 2 p.m. EST (both days)
Live Stats: here Live Stream: FloHoops.com Listen: HSRN.com
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (26-20, 2nd yr) • NSU  - Robert Jones (135-118, 8th yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.nsusports.com

SETTING THE STAGE
• The Morgan State Bears are set for a MEAC slate of games this weekend when they host 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 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 28 points with seven rebounds in an 79-76 win at Coppin State (Jan. 30) ... he is currently averaging 16.9 ppg (No. 2 in MEAC), 4.8 rpg (No. 15) and is shooting 46 percent (92-200; No. 10) from the field ... He was named MEAC Player of the Week (Feb. 2).
•  Last season, Troy Baxter had 58 blocked shots (ranked No. 2 in MEAC) in 31 games as a junior ... He currently leads the team with 24 blocks (No. 2 in MEAC).
• Malik Miller is a jack-of-all-trades for the Bears and is  averaging 13.9 ppg (No. 9), 8.9 rpg (No. 1), 2.2 spg (No. 4) and ranks No. 3 in the league shooting 54.9 percent from the field ... He was has been named twice as the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week (Dec. 22 & Feb. 9), and was selected MEAC Player of the Week (Jan. 19). 
• Trevor Moore poured in a career-high 27 points and connected on 7-of-12 3-pointers vs. Coppin State (Jan. 17) ... He also had five boards, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
• De'Torrion Ware is the Bears second leading scorer by coming off the bench averaging 15.1 ppg (No. 7).
• 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.
• Howard University announced on Tuesday that it is cancelling the rest of its 2020-21 men's basketball season out of an abundance of caution due to the health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SENIOR NIGHT
Morgan State senior student-athletes Victor Okafor (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt HS), Jamar Brown Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) and Troy Baxter (Tallahassee, Fla./Oldsmar Christian HS) who will be playing in their final home games this weekend at Hill Field House. The trio will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Sunday (Feb. 14).

THE SERIES
• This weekend's contests will mark the 57th and 58th matchups between the schools ... The Spartans lead the series 38-18.
• The two teams split in their previous meetings in Norfolk at Echols Memorial Hall.
•  Senior standout Troy Baxter helped Morgan State's basketball team make a statement Saturday on the road for their MEAC opener. Baxter scored a game-high 24 points and got the Bears going early as he had 11 of the team's first 13 points. The 6-foot-9 sharpshooter scored off the dribble, behind the arc and had a couple of sensational dunks to give the Bears an excellent start on Jan. 9, 2021. It was MSU's first win over the Spartans since Jan. 4, 2017 when they held on to beat Norfolk State 58-56 at Hill Field House.
• Norfolk State's last win against the Bears was on Jan. 10, 2021 -- A late second half Norfolk State defense led to a shooting cold spell from the Morgan State men's basketball team, and the Spartans held on to defeat the Bears 89-85 to grab a split of the back-to-back season series. Senior forward Lagio Grantsaan recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, junior Trevor Moore had seven points and six boards, and junior Sherwyn Devonish and freshman Naseem Khaalid chipped in six points apiece. 

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS (10-7, 5-4 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 15.4 points (No. 4 in MEAC) and is shooting 42 percent from the field (No. 14). Joe Bryant Jr., a 6-1 junior guard from Norfolk, Va., is averaging 10.7 points (No. 16) and is shooting 37 percent from the field. Jalen Hawkins, a 6-2 redshirt junior guard is chipping in 9.7 ppg and 6-9 redshirt junior  J.J. Matthews (Arkansas State transfer) is adding 9.5 ppg.
• Devante Carter also leads the Spartans on the glass by averaging 5.4 rebounds per game (ranks No. 8 in the MEAC).
• Devante Carter was named the MEAC Player of the Week on Tuesday (Feb. 9) ... Carter averaged 23.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals in a pair of games at home against Coppin State.
Carter averaged 23.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals in a pair of games at home against Coppin State. The Newport News, Virginia native shot 18-of-41 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free throw line as NSU split its weekend series with the Eagles.
• NSU ranks No. 1 in the league in scoring defense (72.4 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.412), and No. 2 in rebounding offense (36.9), rebounding margin (-0.1) and offensive rebound percentage (.277). 

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS
• Five players scored in double figures for Coppin State, which earned a weekend split with the Norfolk State men's basketball team following a 74-64 win over the Spartans on Feb. 8.
• The Eagles shot 43 percent and held NSU to less than 33 percent shooting in a game shown live on ESPNU from Joseph Echols Hall. Devante Carter led NSU with 16 points and nearly had a triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists.
• Coppin State made 11 3-pointers, with Kyle Cardaci hitting 5-of-11 from 3-point range to lead all players with 17 points.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
• Senior forward Lagio Grantsaan scored a game-high 21 points to help lift the Bears past Delaware State 74-69 on Saturday at Hill Field House.
• Grantsaan shot 70 percent (7-10) from the field and finished 5-for-7 from the free throw line for MSU, which earned its fifth consecutive victory.
• Malik Miller recorded his sixth double-double performance of the season as he finished with 19 points, and a season-high 17 rebounds with three steals and two blocks. Troy Baxter added 17 points, four boards and two blocks. 

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 82.1 points (No. 13 in the nation) thru its first 15 games of the 2020-21 season.
• The Bears have scored 446 points (89.2 ppg) over the course of their current 5-game winning streak
• 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).

LET IT FLY
• The Bears are shooting 34.9 percent from beyond the arc and rank No. 3 in the MEAC.
• De'Torrion Ware leads Morgan State with 2.3 3-point field goals per game and is shooting at a 38.9 percent clip (No. 9). Troy Baxter  is averaging1.9 3-pointers per game, followed by Trevor Moore's 1.7.
• Lagio Grantsaan is chipping in 1.3 three-point field goals per game, and is shooting a 42.6 percent (No. 4 in the MEAC).
• The Bears connected on a season-high 14 3-pointers vs. Lincoln-Pa. (Dec. 1).
• Morgan State shot a league-best 57.9 percent (11-19) in a road win at Iona (Dec. 8).

GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START 
• The Bears are 7-0 this season when leading at halftime.
• On the flip side, MSU has compiled a 2-3 record in games it is trailing at halftime.
• The Bears' only wins when trailing at halftime came at James Madison (Jan. 3) and at Coppin State (Jan. 30).
• MSU is 2-1 in games when tied at halftime.

FOUR PLAYERS AVERAGING DOUBLE-FIGURES 
The Bears will enter Saturday's contest with FOUR players averaging double-digits.
• Senior forward Troy Baxter holds the lead for the team high in points, averaging 16.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 24 blocked shots.
• Junior De'Torrion Ware is averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and is shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc ... he recorded a 36-point outing vs. Delaware State (Jan. 24).
• Junior Malik Miller, who exploded for 30 points versus Coppin State (Jan. 17), is the team's third leading scorer averaging 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and is shooting 54.9 percent from the field.
• Lagio Grantsaan is adding 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and is shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point territory ... he scored a season-high 22 points (5-6 3FG) at Iona (Dec. 8).

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.

2021 MEAC TOURNAMENT
The 2021 Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament will take place Wednesday through Saturday, March 10-13, at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. For more info click here.