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Game 11
Opponent: UMBC Retreivers (5-5, 0-0)
Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Site: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Time: 6 p.m. (ET)
Series Record: Tied 14-4 
Live Stats/Live Stream: www.morganstatebears.com
Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (59-62, 5th yr) | UMBC - Jim Ferry (41-33, 3rd yr)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.umbcretreivers.com

SETTING THE STAGE
• The Morgan State University men's basketball team returns to Hill Field House to take on the UMBC Retreivers on Wednesday (Dec. 6) at 6 p.m. (EST). The game will be streamed live on www.morganstatebears.com and broadcast by the Heritage Radio Sports Network (HSRN.com).
•  The Bears are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak after suffering a disappointing 88-54 loss to Longwood on Sunday. UMBC posted a 92-87 home win against Lehigh and improved to 5-5 for the season. 
• Redshirt junior guard Kamron Hobbs and redshirt junior forward Will Thomas were named to the preseason All-MEAC second team. Last season, Hobbs started in 16 of 31 games played and averaged 28.1 minutes. He averaged 8.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and shot 44.7 percent from the field and 45 percent (45-100) from 3-point territory. Hobbs also averaged 2.7 assists (ranked No. 10 in MEAC) and 1.4 steals.  He scored in double-figures 13 times, including a season-high 24 points versus Delaware State (Feb. 4). Thomas started in 8 of 29 games played last season and averaged 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and shot 43.4 percent from the field and 34 percent (16-47) from 3-point territory.  He scored in double-figures 10 times, scored 20 or more points five times, and poured in a season-high 27 points (11-22 FG) and grabbed 11 rebounds versus Norfolk State (Jan. 23).
• Several newcomers could make an impact for the Bears this season. Morgan added guard Wynston Tabbs from East Carolina, guard Kiran Oliver from New Mexico State, and forward Myles Thompson from Saint Francis (Pa.) via the transfer portal. 
• Morgan's roster includes three freshman, three sophomores, seven juniors, and three seniors.

SCOUTING UMBC
• UMBC is led by head coach Jim Ferry who enters his third season as the Retreivers' head basketball coach. Ferry has led the Retrievers to back-to-back 18-win seasons and the squad has already hosted three home playoff games at the Peake under his tenure. UMBC reached the 2021-22 America East Championship game after finishing second during the regular-season. The team also knocked off a Power 5 opponent, Pittsburgh (ACC), to highlight the non-conference season. The Retrievers finished fourth this past season and hosted a first-round conference tournament contest. In addition, UMBC won a program-record 10 non-conference contests in 2022-2023.
• UMBC enters the 2023-24 season picked to finish sixth in the America East Conference preseason basketball poll. Vermont is once again the preseason America East favorite. The Catamounts won their fourth #AEHoops Championship in the past five seasons a year ago and have been picked atop the 2023-24 America East Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. 
• The Retrievers, who brought in 11 new players this season, only have one returner who played significant minutes last year in Dion Brown. The freshman appeared in 22 games a season ago, averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 19 minutes per contest.
• Dec. 2, 2023 -  UMBC sophomore guard Dion Brown and junior guard Bryce Johnson combined for 49 points as the host Retrievers held off the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 92-87, at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. UMBC shot a season-high 54.2 percent overall as they made 32-of-59 shots, including 9-of-21 treys (42.9 percent).
• UMBC enters Wednesday's contest averaging 80 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent from behind the arc. The Retreivers are averaging 13 assists and 5.6 steals per game.
• Sophomore 6-6 guard Dion Brown (Great Barrington, Mass.) is leading the Retreivers' squad averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field and averaging 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals. USC Upstate 6-8 transfer Khydarius Smith is adding 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and is shooting 60 percent from the field.

THE SERIES VS. UMBC
• The series is tied 14-14.
• Morgan has won four of the last five meetings.
•  Redshirt sophomore forward Will Thomas scored a game-high 22 points off the bench for Morgan, but UMBC led for all but 13 seconds of action and defeated the Bears, 75-63, at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. on Dec. 10, 2022. Thomas scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and connected on 8-of-13 from the field.
• Morgan's last win against UMBC was a 73-60 win at the RAC during the 2011-12 season. 

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS
BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 3, 2023) -  A second-half surge by Longwood on Sunday proved to be too much for the Morgan State men's basketball team as it fell 88-54. 
• Elijah Tucker, a redshirt sophomore from Canton, Ga., led the Lancers with a double-double off the bench. He finished with a 17 points 6-of-11 shooting and added a game-high 11 rebounds.
• Redshirt-senior guard Wynston Tabbs scored eight of his 12 points (5-16 FG) in the first half. He also added four assists and a steal in 27 minutes. 
• Redshirt-junior Kamron Hobbs knocked down 3-of-5 3-pointers and had 11 points, while redshirt-junior Will Thomas added 11 points (5-8 FG).

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
• Morgan scored 100 points in their home-opener vs. Cheney University of Pa. (11/9/23).
• Morgan scored 100 or more points twice during the 2022-23 season.
• The Bears recorded 130 points in the home-opener vs. Penn State Allegheny (11/11/22).
• Morgan registered 123 points in a home win vs. Virginia-Lynchburg (11/29/22).

HOME COOKING 
• Morgan completed the 2022-23 regular season 10-2 at home.
• The Bears had an 11-game home winning streak snapped by UMES on Jan. 30.
• Morgan completed the 2021-22 season with an 8-3 mark inside Hill Field House.
• The last time the Bears lost at home was against North Carolina Central (74-64) ... their previous loss was on Jan. 23, 2022 against Howard (91-82) on Jan. 23, 2022.
• Morgan is 2-1 at home so far this season.

THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Bears' returning team includes four players who shot 70 percent or better from the free throw line this season.
• Morgan has converted 66.4 percent (95-143; ranks No. 7 in MEAC) from the stripe thru 10 games.
• Wynston Tabbs is shooting 80 percent (24-30) and Kamron Hobbs is currently shooting 78.9 percent (15-19) from the stripe to lead the Bears ... Christian Oliver is shooting 72.7 percent (8-11).
• Last season, Morgan shot 68.8 percent (391-558; ranked No. 6 in MEAC) from the stripe, led by Kamron Hobbs who shot 80.6 percent (29-36) and Will Thomas 78.6 percent (33-42).

NON-CONFERENCE RECAP 
• Morgan is off to a 2-8 record in non-conference play so far this season.
• The Bears registered a 8-9 record in their non- conference slate of games during the 2022-23 season (Feb. 4 vs. Delaware State was officially logged as a non-conference contest).

AT THE HELM
• Kevin Broadus is entering his fifth season at the helm of the program after being named as the men's head basketball coach in 2019.
• The Broadus-led Bears team has compiled several significant victories over non-conference competition, elevating the caliber of wins for a program that aims to compete at a championship level within the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Broadus demonstrated exemplary leadership while successfully overcoming a number of challenges at the onset of his tenure at Morgan, including having to navigate rebuilding a program under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This past season, Morgan finished with a record of 15-16 overall, and went 7-7 in MEAC play. In 2021-22, the Bears went 13-15 overall, and placed fourth in the MEAC standings with a 7-6 record while advancing to the MEAC Tournament semifinals game. Morgan advanced to the MEAC Tournament championship game in 2021.
• Prior to Morgan, Broadus worked at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he has been one of the nation's best recruiters as the top assistant on Mark Turgeon's coaching staff. Broadus was influential in the successful NCAA tournament run for the Terps.
• Consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally for recruiting, Broadus was instrumental in signing a number of local Baltimore talents such as DeJuan Summers, Brandon Herbert, LaFonta Johnson, and Henry Sims.

WHO'S OUT
• Malik Miller (Washington, D.C.), Khalil Turner (Philadelphia, Pa.), Isaiah Burke (Bowie, Md.), Daiquan Copeland (Philadelphia, Pa.), Lewis Djonkam(Springfield, Va.), Toto Fagbenle (London, England), Collin Nnamene (Enugu State, Nigeria), David McCullough (Bowie, Md.) and Ty Horner (Sisters, Ore.) wrapped up their Morgan careers last spring.

WHO'S BACK
The Bears return one starter from last year's team, bringing back guard Kamron Hobbs. MSU also returns forward Will Thomas along with guards Rob Lawson and  Kevon Wiggins.

WHO'S IN 
The Bears have added several newcomers to the 2023-24 roster: G Wynston Tabbs, G Demajion Topps, F Myles Thompson, G Kiran Oliver, G Amahrie Simpkins, F Daniel Akiotoby, F Trent Edwards, G Marvin Brimage, F Christian Oliver, G Tytan Newton, F Allen Udemadu, and G Xavier Valley.

RETURNING PRODUCTION NUMBERS 
Morgan State returns 30.2 percent of its scoring, 24.5 percent of its rebounding and 34.3 percent of its minutes played totals from last year's team. The team leaders in field goal percentage (Kamron Hobbs - .447), three-point percentage (Hobbs, .450), free throw percentage (Hobbs, .806), rebounding (Kyle Thomas - 3.9 rpg), assists (Hobbs, 2.7), steals (Hobbs, 1.4), blocked shots (Thomas, 0.2). and minutes played (Hobbs, 28.1). Two (2) players who started in at least five (5) games a year ago.

HOME GROWN 
Morgan State has six (6) players from the DMV (D.C., Maryland & Metropolitan-D.C.) area. Redshirt junior forward Will Thomas is from Baltimore and was a prep standout at Mervo HS, while sophomore guard Rob Lawson is from Capitol Heights and played at National Christian Academy, and freshman guard Staccardo Washington played at Dr. Henry A. Wise HS and is from Upper Marlboro. East Carolina transfer Wynston Tabbs hails from Suitland and played at St. Mary's Ryken School. Freshman guard Marvin Brimage is from Washington, D.C. and played at Jackson-Reed HS. Santa Monica College transfer Daniel Akitoby is a product of Fairfax, Va. and played at Falls Church HS.

THE SCHEDULE
The Bears won't ease into the season, opening the schedule Nov. 6 at Arizona. Another trip west comes later in the month with trips to Fresno State (Nov. 15) and Brigham Young (Nov. 18). Another high-profile game comes Dec. 27 with a visit to Virginia.
• "We're going to be battle tested," Broadus says. "The key is, we just have to be healthy, we have to be smart, we have to learn how to play together through adversity. I think once we do that, we're going to be really good."
• The home opener is Nov. 9 against Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Among the other highlights will be local foe UMBC visiting Hill Field House on Dec. 6, and James Madison making the trip to Morgan for a pre-Christmas matinee on Dec. 22.
• The Bears' MEAC opener is Jan. 6 at Maryland-Eastern Shore, followed two days later by a visit from Delaware State. The regular season ends with a four-game homestand, capped by a Senior Day showdown against crosstown rival Coppin State on March 7.
•  "We just have to put it together," Broadus says. "I like what we've got. I think we have a good nucleus and I like how we're doing things."

PREDICTED TO FINISH FOURTH IN THE MEAC
The Morgan State men's basketball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's preseason poll.
• The 2023-24 Bears earned 72 total points in the voting. Howard claimed 11 first place votes and 107 points total as the defending MEAC champions. Norfolk State (96 pts) was selected second, followed by North Carolina Central in third place  (79 pts). Maryland Eastern Shore (55 pts), Delaware State (39 pts), Coppin State (30 pts) and South Carolina State (26 pts) rounded out the league's predicted order of finish.
• Redshirt junior guard Kamron Hobbs and redshirt junior forward Will Thomas were named to the preseason All-MEAC second team.
• The 2024 MEAC Basketball Tournament will be held March 13-16 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.

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, Jr. 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.
  
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS 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. 
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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.