Score: Morgan State 63, UMBC 75
Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Md.
Records: Morgan State 4-7 | UMBC 7-4
The short story: Redshirt sophomore forward Will Thomas scored a game-high 22 points off the bench for Morgan State, but UMBC led for all but 13 seconds of action and won their fourth consecutive game, defeating local rival Morgan State, 75-63, before 2,030 fans at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.

OPENING TIP

• Thomas scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and connected on 8-of-13 from the field.
• Senior guard Malik Miller added 14 points (4-8 FG) with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 35 minutes.
• Senior guard Isaiah Burke finished with 10 points (4-12 FG) and added three boards.
• Junior guard Matteo Picarelli hit a career high six treys and led three Retrievers in double figures with 18 points.
• UMBC seniors Jacob Boonyasith and Yaw Obeng-Mensah had strong second halves and finished with 15 and 14 points respectively. 

THE DIFFERENCE

• UMBC played tight defense in the early going, holding Morgan State to 3-of-17 shooting to open the game.
• The Retrievers used a 17-2 run over a 5:43 span to extend a 15-10 lead to 32-12 with 3:46 to play in the first half. Picarelli knocked down a pair of treys to spark the run.
• Morgan trimmed the deficit to 34-20, but Tre'von Fagan hit a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds to give the hosts a 36-20 halftime lead.
• The Retrievers held the Bears to 24.2 percent shooting (8-of-33) and outrebounded the visitors, 27-18, in the first 20 minutes.  
• Picarelli hit 4-of-6 shots from the floor and led all players with 12 first half points, while Fagan amassed 8 points and 6 rebounds.
• Morgan State opened the second half on a 10-2 run, but a Jacob Boonyasith trey extended the lead back to double figures at 41-30 with 15:38 to play in the half.
• Picarelli knocked down his sixth trey of the night to give UMBC a 61-45 lead with 7:26 remaining.
• Boonyasith heated up, scoring 13 second half points and helping the Retrievers build a 73-51 lead with 3:32 remaining.
• Morgan turned over the Retrievers 16 times and scored 16 points off those miscues.
• UMBC out-rebounded the Bears by a 41-38 margin.
• The Bears held a 14-6 advantage in second chance points.  
• The Retrievers shot 46.0 percent from the floor (29-of-63) and 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from behind the arc, while holding Morgan State to 35.4 and 21.1 percent respectively.

 
NOTABLE

• The contest was the first meeting between UMBC and Morgan State since the 2011-12 season and UMBC tied the all-time series at 14-all. The Retrievers snapped a four-game slide to the Bears and the teams will play again at Morgan State next season.

 
UP NEXT
The Bears will continue non-conference play when they travel to play Arizona on Thursday, Dec. 22.


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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 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.