Game 22 (MEAC Contest)
Morgan State (7-14, 2-4 MEAC) at North Carolina Central (10-11, 4-2 MEAC)
Date: Monday, Feb. 5, 2024
Site: Durham, N.C. (McDougald-McLendon Arena)
Tip-off: 5:30 p.m.
Series Record: Morgan State leads, 17-5
Audio: HSRN.com
Live Stream: Here
Live Stats: Here
Websites: MorganStateBears.com | nccueaglepride.com
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 4, 2024)--Morgan State (7-14, 2-4 MEAC) will look to wrap up its trip to the Carolina's and the first half of the MEAC schedule when it visits North Carolina Central on Monday, Feb. 5 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest in Durham, N.C. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. at McDougald-McLendon Arena. The Eagles (10-11, 4-2 MEAC), winners of two straight, enter the contest sitting in a three-way tie for second in the MEAC standings, while Morgan State is currently sixth.
  
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 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.

BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (7-14, 2-4 MEAC) ended a four-game losing skid with a 65-59 victory at South Carolina State (2/3). The win was the 11^th straight for Morgan State over South Carolina State. Amari Smith led four Lady Bears in double figures scoring with 15 points. Sedayjha Payne added 13 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and had a game-high three steals. Joelle Johnson finished with 12 points, five rebounds, a game-high five assists, two steals and recorded a game-high four blocked shots. Jael Butler totaled 11 points and four boards.
 
BIRD SEED: North Carolina Central (10-11, 4-2 MEAC) is riding a two-game winning streak, following a 53-48 victory at home over Coppin State on Saturday. Morgan Callahan scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Callahan also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, had two steals and a game-high three blocks. Kyla Bryant added eight points and eight rebounds, while Janiah Jones tallied eight points and a game-high four steals.
 
MSU VS. NCCU SERIES NOTES: Morgan State has won seven straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Eagles to lead the all-time series, 17-5.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will return home to begin the second half of the MEAC slate, when it welcomes Maryland Eastern Shore to Hill Field House for Community Youth Day/Benny's Birthday on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
 
55 POINTS: Morgan State's starting lineup scored 55 of the Lady Bears' 65 points in the win at South Carolina State (2/3). Four of the starters reached doubled figures with freshman Amari Smith leading the way with 15 points. Senior Sedayjha Paynes added 13 points and fellow senior Joelle Johnson finished with 12 points. Sophomore Jael Butler totaled 11 points.
 
ONE HALF DOWN: Morgan State will wrap up the first half of the 2024 MEAC slate on Monday, Feb. 5, when it visits North Carolina Central. Morgan State enters the game with a 2-4 MEAC record and sits in sixth place in the league standings. Last season the Lady Bears began MEAC play winning their first nine games, including 7-0 during the first half of the conference schedule.
 
11 STRAIGHT: The Lady Bears victory at South Carolina State (2/3) was their 11^th straight win over the Lady Bulldogs, while also ending a season-long four-game losing skid. Morgan State's last lost to S.C. State was a 50-46 loss in Orangeburg, S.C. (1/23/17).
 
2024 GAME THEMES ANNOUNCED: Morgan State has announced game themes for its remaining MEAC homes contests for the 2023-24 season. Morgan will host Beltway rival Howard (1/27) for Morgan Strong/White Out and Coaches vs. Cancer. Maryland Eastern Shore (2/17) comes to town for Community Youth Day/Benny's (mascot) Birthday. Morgan State will host Military Appreciation Day against Norfolk State (2/26) and Community Day/Band/Cheer Day against South Carolina State (3/2). Faculty Appreciation/Greek Night will take place March 4 when Morgan State plays host to North Carolina Central. The Lady Bears welcome crosstown rival Coppin State for the regular season finale and Senior Night on March 7, which will also be Corporate Night/AD Honor Roll.
 
DAVIS RETURNS TO THE HORNETS NEST: Morgan State head coach Ed Davis Jr., will make his eighth trip back to Memorial Hall as an opposing head coach on Monday, Feb. 19 when the Lady Bears travel to Dover, Del. to take on Delaware State. Morgan State is 13-5 all-time against DSU since Davis joined the Morgan State staff as an assistant coach in 2012-13, and have now won nine of the last 11 meetings in Dover. Davis, who once patrolled the sideline for 12 seasons as the head coach of Delaware State, is the winningest coach in Hornets' program history with 178 victories. While at Delaware State, Davis guided the Hornets to the MEAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2007. Davis currently has 106 career wins at Morgan State, which ranks third all-time on the coaching charts.
 
THE RIVALRY CONTINUES: Rivals Morgan State and Coppin State will meet for the 91^st time in Round 1 of the annual 'East vs. West' season series on Saturday, Jan. 20. Also known as the 'Battle of Baltimore' or simply 'Coppin-Morgan', this season marks the fourth consecutive season that Morgan State and Coppin State will close out the regular season playing against each other in the season finale, scheduled for Thursday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House. It will also be 'Senior Night' for Morgan State. Morgan State has won 12 of the last 13 regular season contests over the Eagles.
 
12-DAY LAYOFF: The Morgan State basketball team will have two season-long 12-day layoffs between games. The Lady Bears, who last played Jan. 8, will end their first 12-day hiatus this Saturday, Jan. 20 when they visit Coppin State. Morgan's second 12-day break will come following its trip to North Carolina Central on Monday, Feb. 5. The team will resume play again on Saturday, Feb. 17 when it welcomes Maryland Eastern Shore to Baltimore. 
 
FAIR, MUECK MAKE MORGAN DEBUT: Laila Fair and Anjanae Mueck made their Morgan State debut at Oregon State (12/28). Fair finished with a game-high four blocks to go with six points, five rebounds and two steals against the Beavers. Mueck finished with four points, two rebounds and a steal.

CHARM CITY HOOPS CLASSIC: Local foes Morgan State, Towson and UMBC have agreed to play each other every year in both men's and women's basketball in what is being billed as the Charm City Hoops Classic. The three schools previously participated in the Battle of Baltimore series for six seasons from the 1997-98 season through the 2002-03 campaign. Towson's women went 2-0, while Morgan State was 1-1. UMBC finished 0-2.

WINLESS NO MORE: Morgan State closed out the Puerto Rico Clasico with a 53-51 victory over UNC Asheville (11/24). The win was the Lady Bears' first victory in the tournament in 11 tries.
 
MORGAN IN THE PUERTO RICO CLASICO: Over the Thanksgiving holiday break the Lady Bears made their sixth appearance in the Puerto Rico Clasico event and fifth trip to Puerto Rico. Morgan State dropped the opener to Campbell (60-46) on Thursday, Nov. 23 in San Juan, and defeated UNC Asheville (53-51) in the finale on Friday, Nov. 24. The Lady Bears, who improved to 1-10 all-time in the tournament, first competed in the even during the 2016-17 season and attended four straight years from 2016-20. The 2017 tournament was moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. due to the damage of Hurricane Maria.
 
DAVIS PICKS UP WIN NO. 100: Morgan State head coach Edward Davis recorded his 100th career coaching victory at Morgan, following the Lady Bears' 59-57 victory over Washington Adventist (11/6) in the season opener. Davis, who took over the helm of the Morgan State women's program for the 2016-17 season, currently ranks third all-time on the career coaching victories chart with 105.
 
PROTECTING THE 'HOUSE': Last season Morgan State went 11-2 at Hill Field House to set the school record for most home wins in a season, passing the previous mark of 10 wins set by both the 2017-18 and 2019-20 teams. Morgan State has now won 38 of its last 43 home games dating back to the 2018-19 campaign. The Lady Bears went 9-1 at Hill Field House during the 2021-22 season. During an abbreviated 2020-21 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MSU went 6-1 at Hill Field House. The season before that the Lady Bears concluded the 2019-20 campaign with a 10-1 home record, which was the program's best home court mark since the 2017-18 team finished 10-3.
 
MORGAN PICKED THIRD IN MEAC: The Morgan State Lady Bears were picked to finish third in the MEAC Preseason poll. The Lady Bears, who finished second a season ago, received one first-place vote and 86 points. Defending MEAC regular season and tournament champion Norfolk State was picked as the preseason favorite. The Spartans earned 12 of 16 first-place votes and 115 points. Howard was second with two first-place votes and 114 points.
 
JOHNSON NAMED TO MEAC PRESEASON 2ND TEAM: Sophomore guard Gabrielle Johnson was named to the Preseason All-MEAC Second Team. A MEAC All-Rookie Team selection last season, Johnson played in all 29 games, making six starts. She averaged 5.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 19.6 minutes per game. Johnson reached double figures in scoring six times, including a career-high 21 points twice at North Carolina Central and at Maryland Eastern Shore. The Baltimore native finished third on the team in assists (56) and was fifth in steals (33). Johnson ranked 12^th among MEAC leaders in assists and 20^th in steals.
 
MORGAN IN SEASON OPENERS: The Lady Bears are 14-33 all-time in season openers, openers dating back to 1977, following their 59-57 victory this season over Washington Adventist (11/6). The win was the second straight season-opening win for the Lady Bears. Morgan State at one point had lost 23 straight season openers prior to winning three straight from 2006-08.
 
WELCOME HOME: A familiar face joined the Morgan State sideline this season with the addition of Janelle Silver-Martin as an assistant coach. Silver-Martin, who is no stranger to Morgan State, was a two-year letterwinner for the Lady Bears playing in 41 games from 2014-16. Silver-Martin graduated from Morgan with a degree in public relations in 2016.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: Morgan State will face five opponents this season that reached postseason play a year ago. South Carolina, Stanford, Sacred Heart and MEAC foe Norfolk State all reached the Women's NCAA Tournament, while Towson, like Morgan State, played in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State welcomes the addition of nine newcomers to the 2023-24 program this season. Two graduate transfers in Joelle Johnson and Anyssia Gibbs; two senior transfers, Brooklyn Jones and Anjanae Mueck, two junior transfers in Laila Fair and Nakilah Johnson and three freshmen, Dakota Alston, Tamaria Rumph and Amari Smith.
 
SAYING GOODBYE: The Lady Bears will say goodbye to a total of five players including two graduate players at the conclusion of the home schedule. Graduate players Anyssia Gibbs and Joelle Johnson along with two-year member Sedayjha Payne and senior transfers Brooklyn Jones and Anjanae Mueck will all be honored. Morgan State will honor its seniors on 'Senior Night' when the Lady Bears host rival Coppin State on Thursday, March 7 in the home and season finale at Hill Field House.
   
2024 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 13-16, 2024 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. The annual MEAC Basketball Tournament moved to Norfolk in 2013 after spending the previous four years in Winston-Salem, N.C. from 2009 through 2012.
 
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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