Men's Basketball 3/9/2021 12:00:00 PM MSU Athletics Communications

MBB Game Notes: South #2-seeded Florida A&M

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Norfolk Scope Arena.

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Game 20
Opponent: South No. 2-seeded Florida A&M Rattlers (8-11, 7-5)
Date: March 11, 2021
Site: Scope Arena, Norfolk, Va.
Game Time: 6 p.m. EST
Live Stats: here | Live Stream: FloHoops (Charlie Neal and Cy Alexander)
MSU Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (27-23, 2nd yr) • FAMU - Robert McCullum (41-70, 4th yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.famurattlers.com

SETTING THE STAGE
• North No. 3-seeded Morgan State battles South No. 2-seeded Florida A&M (8-11) Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament with a spot in Friday's semifinals game on the line. The winner will face the North No. 1-seeded Coppin State Eagles.
• Entering the contest, the overall 12-7 Bears look to bounce back after a tough loss at Delaware State last Saturday that knocked them out of a share of the Northern Division title with Norfolk State and Coppin State.
•  The Bears and Rattlers are meeting for the 63rd time in the series overall, for the seventh time in the MEAC Tournament and the first time in the tournament since 2009.
• 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 enters the Florida A&M game averaging 17.1 ppg (No. 1 in MEAC), 4.8 rpg and is shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 36.7 from the three ... He was named to the 2021 All-MEAC First Team and was selected to the All-Defensive Team.
• 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 30 blocks (No. 3 in MEAC).
• Malik Miller is a jack-of-all-trades for the Bears and is averaging 12.5 ppg (No. 10) and 7.9 rpg (No. 2) ... He was named to the 2021 All-MEAC Second Team and was selected to the All-Defensive Team.
• 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 15.7 ppg (No. 5), 5.2 rpg (No. 12) and is shooting 36.9 percent from 3 (No. 9) ... He was named to the 2021 All-MEAC Second Team.
• The Bears have a couple of talented transfers: Cincinnati transfer Trevor Moore; Sharone Wright Jr. (Wake Forest); and De'Torrion Ware (Jacksonville State).
• This year, the MEAC split into Northern and Southern Divisions for basketball, and teams played conference games exclusively within their division.

THE SERIES
• Thursday's contest will mark the 63rd matchup between the schools ... Florida A&M leads the series 36-26.
• MSU's last win against Florida A&M was on Jan. 6, 2018. Senior guard Tiwian Kendley and senior forward Phillip Carr combined to score 67 of Morgan State's 87 points as the Bears beat Florida A&M, 87-68 in Hill Field House. Carr hit a free throw, a layup, a 3-pointer and a dunk as the Bears (6-9, 2-0) opened up a 20-5 lead over the first seven minutes of the game. Kendley hit a pair of 3s to help fuel the start. Kendley scored a season-high with 35 points on 10-of-24 shooting, including 4 of 13 from distance, and 11 of 13 from the line. Carr added a season-high 32 on 11-of-13 shooting, including 1 for 1 from deep, and 9 of 11 from the line while grabbing a game-high eight boards.
• The Rattlers last win against MSU was on Jan. 11, 2020 ... MJ Randolph had a game-high 19 points, Ervins Desir added 15 and host Florida A&M posted its first MEAC win of the season to beat Morgan State 77-68 at the Al Lawson Center ... Randolph connected on 6 of 13 from the field and added four rebounds and three steals in the Rattlers first home game of the season ... Stanley Davis led the Bears with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals and junior Troy Baxter each recorded 10 points ... Baxter also finished with six rebounds and four blocked shots.

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS (8-11, 7-5 MEAC)
• Head coach Robert McCullum enters his fourth season leading the Florida A&M men's basketball program in 2020-21. McCullum led the Rattlers to a winning conference record in 2018, the Rattlers first winning first winning record in MEAC play since the 2006-2007 season.
• FAMU finished the 2019-20 season 12-15 overall and 10-6 in MEAC play.
• The Rattlers have a 8-11 overall record and finished 7-5 in MEAC play.
• The Rattlers are led by junior guard MJ Randolph and Jalen Speer. Randolph, who was recently named to the 2021 ALl-MEAC First Team and All-Defensive Team, is averaging 15.2 points and is shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point territory. Speer is averaging 11.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and is shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and was named to the 2021 MEAC All-Rookie Team.
• Bryce Moragne, a 6-5 forward from Tampa (Fla.), is the team's leading rebounder (7.1 rpg), and is averaging 8.3 points and is shooting 51 percent from the field.
• FAMU ranks No. 1 in the MEAC in scoring defense (68.1 avg), field goal percentage (.443), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.280), and rebounding defense (35.3 avg).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE RATTLERS
• March 4, 2021 -- Jalen Speer, Kamron Reaves and MJ Randolph all scored 14 points apiece as Florida A&M wrapped the regular season up with a 74-71 loss to North Carolina Central at the McDougald-McLendon Arena.
• Randolph hit on 62.5 percent of his shots (5-of-8) and snagged five rebounds with five assists. Speer and Reaves both shot 50 percent from the field (5-of-10). Reaves grabbed four rebounds with two assists, while Speer tallied one rebound and one assist.
• FAMU connected on 51.9 percent of its shots (27-of-52) including 47.4 percent from behind the arch (9-of-19)

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
• March 6, 2021 --  Myles Carter scored a game-high 24 points and John Stansbury had 16 points as the Hornets beat Morgan State 82-75 on Saturday.
•  The win avenged a 92-67 loss to the Bears on Friday night and ended their chances of closing the season with a share of the MEAC Northern Division regular season title.
• Lagio Grantsaan led Morgan with 21 points and nine rebounds. Troy Baxter added 19 points, four rebounds and four blocks, while De'Torrion Ware had 16 points, four rebounds and three steals.
• Morgan shot 40 percent from the floor and went 9-for-20 from 3-point territory, but was outhustled on the glass by a 41-30 margin.

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 led the MEAC in scoring by averaging 80.7 points (No. 13 in the nation) thru 19 games of the 2020-21 season.
• The Bears have scored 375 points (75.0 ppg) over the course of their last 5-games.
• 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 34.8 percent from beyond the arc and rank No. 2 in the MEAC.
• De'Torrion Ware leads Morgan State with 2.2 3-point field goals per game and is shooting at a 36.9 percent clip (No. 9). Troy Baxter is averaging 2.1 3-pointers per game, followed by Trevor Moore's 1.6.
• Lagio Grantsaan is chipping in 1.3 three-point field goals per game, and is shooting a 42.9 percent (T-No. 3 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 8-2 this season when leading at halftime.
• On the flip side, MSU has compiled a 2-4 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 the 2021 MEAC Tournament with four players averaging double-digits.
• Senior forward Troy Baxter holds the lead for the team high in points, averaging 17.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 30 blocked shots.
• Junior De'Torrion Ware is averaging 15.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and is shooting 36.9 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 12.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and is shooting 51.4 percent from the field.
• Senior Lagio Grantsaan, who recently scored 21 points with nine boards at Delaware State (March 6), is averaging 10.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and is shooting 42.9 percent from the three.

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.

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.
Here is the link to all the live stats for the fans and the public throughout the tournament: http://meac.statbroadcast.com

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 high research (R2) institution offering more than 126 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 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.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Phillip Carr: F; 6' 9"; Senior

#5 Tiwian Kendley: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#0 Stanley Davis: G; 6' 5"; Junior

#15 Isaiah Burke: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

#1 Troy Baxter: F; 6' 9"; Senior

#44 Jamar Brown: F; 6' 9"; Senior

#5 Sherwyn Devonish: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#0 Lagio Grantsaan: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#11 Malik Miller: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#55 Trevor Moore: G; 6' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#22 Phillip Carr
: 6' 9"; Senior
: F

#5 Tiwian Kendley
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#0 Stanley Davis
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G

#15 Isaiah Burke
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G

#1 Troy Baxter
: 6' 9"; Senior
: F

#44 Jamar Brown
: 6' 9"; Senior
: F

#5 Sherwyn Devonish
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#0 Lagio Grantsaan
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#11 Malik Miller
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#55 Trevor Moore
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G