FARMVILLE, Va. (November 9, 2024) — Morgan State men's basketball tipped off at the Joan Perry Brock Center on Saturday afternoon. After trailing by four points at half and cutting Longwood's lead to two in the early going in the second half, the Bears fell by a score of 84-66.
Morgan (1-2) gave Longwood (2-0) a challenge to begin the game, as the lead changed hands 10 times in the opening stanza. Longwood's 46% from the field bested Morgan's 44% and the Lancers shot a higher percentage from three in the frame by connecting on 6-of-16. Meanwhile, the Bears shot just 1-for-8 from 3-point territory during the early going.
Senior Wynston Tabbs posted 8 points for the Bears in the first half, which included a jumper to cut the lead to 36-32 as time expired.
The Bears continued to play tough well into the opening moments of the second half. After Longwood led by five, the Bears were able to chip into the lead and a turnaround jumper by Daniel Akitoby set the score at 39-37 with 18:39 left to go in the game.
The Lancers found great contributions from Michael Christmas, KJ McClurg, and Kyrell Luc. Christmas led the way with 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while McClurg and Luc added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
In addition, the Lancers shot 21 of their 27 free throws in the second half compared to Morgan's 11 total in the game, which proved to make a huge difference.
The Lancers also scored 27 points off 19 turnovers by the Bears.
In a challenging shooting day for the Bears, junior Kiran Oliver stood out as the lone sharpshooter, successfully converting the team's only three-pointer during their matchup. The Bears shot a dismal 1-for-12 from beyond the arc on the day.
13 players recorded minutes for the Bears in Saturday's loss. Senior Amahrie Simpkins played a season-high 32 minutes in the game, and paced the Bears with 17 points (7-8 FG), with five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Tabbs added 12 points and three assists.
After a busy weekend road trip, Morgan will have a few days of rest before returning to action from Hill Field House on Tuesday. The Bears will play host to University of the District of Columbia at 6 p.m. in Baltimore.
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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.
