Score: Morgan State 44 | Virginia 79
Location: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.
Records: Morgan State 4-11, 0-0 | Virginia 10-2, 1-0
The short story: Virginia's smothering defense proved to be too much for the Morgan State men's basketball team as it fell 79-44. The Bears drop to 4-11 on the season, while the Cavaliers improved to 10-2.
OPENING TIP
- Reece Beekman, who was named to the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 Watch List, was just shy of a double-double for the Cavaliers as he finished with a game-high 17 points 4-of-8 shooting with five rebounds and three assists.
- Sophomore 6-8 forward Ryan Dunn scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 10 boards in 24 minutes. Graduate student 6-9 forward Jake Groves chipped in 10 points (3-4 3FG), while graduate student Leon Bond III added 10 points and seven boards off the bench.
- Sophomore Rob Lawson led the Bears with 14 points and 4 assists in 37 minutes, while redshirt-junior Kamron Hobbs scored 13 points (5-11 FG) in 36 minutes.
- Freshman Trent Edwards chipped in eight points (3-4 FG) and five boards in 29 minutes.
THE DIFFERENCE
- Virginia connected on 47 percent (32-68) of their shots from the field and 43 percent from behind the arc, while the Bears shot 34 percent from the field and connected on 5 of 12 (.420) 3-pointers.
- Morgan shot .600 (9-15) from the free throw line, compared to Virginia's .455 percent (5-11).
- Virginia outrebounded the Bears by a 39-33 margin, including a 17-10 advantage on the offensive boards.
- The Cavaliers' bench outscored the Bears by a 28-5 margin.
- Virginia jumped out 14-5 during the early going as the Bears getting up uncontested shots.
- The Cavs extended to a dour;-digit lead when Groves knocked down a corner triple to take a 17-7 lead with 10:41 remaining. Dunn converted an and-one to push the lead to 23-10 with 8:02. The Cavaliers used a 13-2 run to go up 18 (30-12).
- Dunn capped the first half scoring with a dunk as the Cavs headed into the intermission with a commanding 43-16 lead. The Cavaliers made 8 of their last 9 shots of the half.
- Trent Edwards opened the second half with a jumper to as part of an 8-0 run by the Bears to trim the Cavaliers lead to 43-24. Virginia responded with a 9-2 run to lead 51-26. Virginia would go on to cruise to a 79-44 victory.
NOTABLE
- The win improves Virginia's series record against Morgan to 5-0.
- Morgan's record is currently 0-10 when being outrebounded.
- Morgan's leading scorer Wynston Tabbs (16.4 ppg) along with redshirt-junior forward Will Thomas (10.1 ppg) did not play.
UP NEXT
Morgan travels to take on NJIT on Sunday, Dec. 30 to close out the Bears' non-conference slate.
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE
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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.
