Score: Morgan State 92 | UMBC 80
Location: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Records: Morgan State 3-8 | UMBC 5-6
The short story: Redshirt senior guard Wynston Tabbs scored 22 of his game and career-high 38 points in the first half, while Will Thomas added 23 points off the bench, as Morgan State defeated UMBC, 92-80 in a non-conference matchup Wednesday night at Hill Field House.
 

OPENING TIP

• Tabbs connected on 13-of-21 from the floor, 6-of-10 from three and was perfect from the free throw line (6-6) for the Bears. 
• Redshirt junior Will Thomas scored a season-high 23 points while going 8-of-14 from the field, and added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in 27 minutes off the bench.
• Allen Udemadu recorded his first double-double of the season as he finished with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting and finished with a game-high 12 rebounds. 
• Kamron Hobbs added a game-high 10 assists and chipped in seven points.
• The Retrievers (5-6) were led by Dion Brown, who posted 16 points (6-10 FG) in 23 minutes. Marcus Banks added 13 points, Bryce Johnson had 12 and Khydarius Smith had 11. In addition, Ace Valentine had nine points, and a team-high nine rebounds and five assists.

THE DIFFERENCE

• UMBC opened up the scoring on an explosive breakaway dunk by Dion Brown as the Retrievers jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening moments of tonights matchup ... the Bears responded when Tabbs hit his first jumper as part of an 8-4 spurt to tie the game at 12-12 (13:37). 
• The game was tied at 30-30 when Kamron Hobbs and Tabbs connected back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bears a 6-point cushion (36-30) at the 3:09 mark.  Tabbs would end up hitting his fourth triple of the night for his 22nd point to give the Bears a 41-34 edge, but UMBC's Ashton Reese scored on a fastbreak layup in the final moment as Morgan went into the intermission with a 41-36 lead at halftime.
• The Bears used an 8-2 run in the second half as the lead grew to 49-38 when Allen Udemadu finished with a layup with 16:39 remaining. UMBC was able to stay within striking distance when Alpha Chibambe scored a layup to trim Morgan's lead to 56-51 (12:39). However, a basket by Amahrie Simpkins helped spark an 8-2 run, and Will Thomas scored a basket in the paint to give the Bears a double-digit lead up 64-53 (11:13).  
• The Retrievers managed to close within 65-57 at the 9:56 mark after a free throw by Frank Emmou but that was as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest. The Bears went on an 11-2 run to widen their lead to 17 points, 76-59, at the 7:15 mark. Tabbs ignited the stretch with a layup and capped it with a trey. 
• Morgan shot .846 (22-26) from the free throw line, while the Retrievers finished 15-for-22 (.682) from the stripe.
• The Bears out-rebounded UMBC by a 41-39 margin.
• Morgan shot .456 (31-of-68) from the field, compared to UMBC's .446 (29-of-65). The Bears shot .421 (8-19) from beyond the arc, while the Retrievers connected on 7-of-21 (.333) from 3-point range.
• MSU's bench outscored the Retrievers by a 34-29 margin.
• The Bears scored 16 points off forcing 14 UMBC turnovers.

• UMBC head coach Jim Ferry  was ejected from the game after being whistled for two technical fouls with 6:52 left. A three-pointer by Tabbs at the 6:17 mark would then give Morgan their largest lead of the night, 83-63.
• Tabbs notched his second game of scoring 30+ points this season. He scored 31 vs. Radford on Nov. 21.
• Morgan improved its series record against UMBC to 15-14 and has won five of the last six meetings.
• Morgan snapped a 7-game losing streak and improved its home record to 3-1.