Score: Morgan State 82 | Norfolk State 85
Location: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Records: Morgan State 9-18, 5-6 | Norfolk State 19-9, 9-2
The short story: Jamarii Thomas had a game-high 20 points to help Norfolk State hold on for an 85-82 victory over Morgan State in front of a packed crowd Monday night at Hill Field House.
OPENING TIP
• Thomas, a junior from Greensboro, N.C., scored 12 of his game-high 20 in the first half to lead the Spartans. He also recorded team highs of five rebounds and four assists.
• Christian Ings, a graduate guard from Philadelphia, Pa., added a season-high 17 points while going 4 of 7 from the floor, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and 7 for 7 from the line, and he also had four assists.
• Graduate guard Allen Bertrand had 15 points off the bench and was 6 for 9 from the field.
• Rob Lawson finished with a career-high 20 points in 27 minutes off the bench to lead five Bears in double-figures. The sophomore guard was perfect from the free throw line (11-11) and added three boards and three assists.
• Wynston Tabbs, who entered the night as the MEAC's No. 4 leading scorer (15.9 ppg), finished with 19 points (6-9 FG) and connected on 3 of 4 3-pointers.
• Will Thomas had 13 points, Christian Oliver posted 12 points with five boards, and Kamron Hobbs added 10 points and a game-high five assists.
THE DIFFERENCE
• Morgan connected on 49 percent (26-53) of their shots from the field and shot 4-of-17 from 3-point territory. Meanwhile, the Spartans shot 51 percent from the field and connected on 7 of 20 3-pointers.
• Morgan shot .963 (26-27) from the free throw line, compared to Norfolk's 77.8 percent (14-18).
• Morgan held a 35-27 advantage on the boards, including a 13-12 advantage on the offensive glass.
• The Spartans scored 23 points off of forcing 14 Morgan turnovers.
• Norfolk outscored the Bears in the paint by a 42-26 margin.
• Norfolk held a 50-48 halftime lead.
• Jack Doumbia gave the Spartans the lead with under five minutes remaining on a strong take to the cup. Thomas followed up with a 3-point play to give the Spartans a 4-point cushion at 82-78 with 3 minutes remaining.
• Tyrel Bladen scored in the paint to give the Spartans a 84-78 advantage.
• Kamron Hobbs was fouled on a shot in the lane and stepped up and hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 84-80 with 1:06 remaining.
• Norfolk's Chris Fields Jr. had his shot rejected by Allen Udemadu that led to Rob Lawson being fouled on a fastbreak layup attempt. Lawson hit both free throws to trim the lead to 84-82 with 32 seconds left.
• Thomas split a pair of free throws to give the Spartans an 85-82 lead. Morgan called a timeout with 13 seconds left on the clock. Morgan had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer with a desperation 3-pointer by Kamron Hobbs, but it didn't fell short sealing the Spartans' fourth consecutive win.
NOTABLE
• The Bears are 3-3 in the month of February.
• Morgan's home record dropped to 6-4 this season.
• The Bears dropped to 3-14 when trailing at halftime.
• The Spartans remain two games ahead of North Carolina Central, Howard, and South Carolina State in the MEAC standings, all three in a tie for second.
• Morgan State dropped to 9-18 on the season, 5-6 in conference action.
LOOKING AHEAD (SATURDAY, MARCH 2)
Morgan will host the South Carolina State Bulldogs (12-16, 7-4) to complete their series on Saturday, March 2. Tip time is 4:30 p.m. at Hill Field House.
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.
