Score: Morgan State 78 | Norfolk State 74
Location: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Records: Morgan State 8-12, 2-2 | Norfolk Sate 12-8, 3-1
The short story: Redshirt senior guard Kameron Hobbs scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Morgan State men's basketball team to a 78-74 victory against Norfolk State on Monday night at Hill Field House.
OPENING TIP
- Hobbs connected on 9-of-19 from the field, including 4-for-9 from three-point territory and added a game-high eight rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes.
- Daniel Akitoby and Amahrie Simpkins scored 15 points each. Akitoby also finished with six boards, four steals and three assists.
- Will Thomas added 12 points (6-15 FG) with four rebounds.
- Terrence Jones paced the Spartans with 20 points, five rebounds and three steals in 27 minutes.
- Sin'Cere McMahon scored 13 points (3-9 3FG) off the bench, and Brian Moore Jr. chipped in 11 points, seven boards and five assists.
THE DIFFERENCE
- MSU shot 51 percent (29-56) from the field, including 47 percent (8-17) from 3-point territory. The Spartans shot 40 percent (28-70) from the floor and struggled from beyond the arc where they finished 7-for-27 (25%).
- Morgan shot 12-for-15 (80%) from the free throw line, compared to Norfolk's 52 percent (11-21).
- The Spartans held a commanding 45-30 advantage on the boards, and outscored the Bears 38-26 inside the paint.
- Norfolk's bench outscored the Bears by a 31-5 margin.
- Morgan scored 20 points off 14 Spartan turnovers.
- The Bears held a 33-30 lead at the intermission.
- Kiran Oliver nailed a 3-pointer to help give the Bears its largest lead of the night at 57-46 with just over 11 minutes left to go.
- The Bears held an 7-point lead after Hobbs connected on a floater in the paint with just under 3 minutes to play, however the Spartans responded when McMahon knocked down a 3-pointer and a steal by Moore Jr. led to a fastbreak layup by McMahon to cut Morgan's lead to 70-68.
- McMahon scored the next 5 points for the Spartans, hitting a pair of free throws, followed by another 3-pointer that knotted the game at 73-73 with 65 seconds left to go.
- Will Thomas stepped up and hit a tough step back jumper to help regain the lead for the Bears at 75-73. Fields made a free throw on the Spartans' next possession, cutting the gap to one.
- The Bears missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Norfolk State a chance to take the lead. Morgan's defense held off three Spartan shot attempts in the final seconds, securing the defensive rebound with one second remaining to close out the game.
NOTABLE
- With the win, Morgan has narrowed the gap against Norfolk, bringing the series record to 48-19 in favor of the Spartans.
- Morgan's home record improves to 8-3.
- Morgan posted its first win against the Spartans since a 77-71 victory at Hill Field House on January 23, 2023.
- Kameron Hobbs registered his eighth 20-point game of the season, and his seventh straight.
- Will Thomas needed just 8 points to reach 1,000 career points…he finished tonight with 12 points and now has 1,004 points for his current career total.
- Earlier today, Kameron Hobbs was named MEAC Player of the Week and Daniel Akitoby was named Defensive Player of the Week - here.
- The Bears went into tonight's game with just eight players.
- Morgan's record improves to 5-1 when leading at the half.
COACH BROADUS SAID IT
Overall thoughts on the win…
"Our guys came to play tonight and we shared the game. We never gave up. We had a gameplan and we knew we were undermanned and just stuck to the gameplan. That's a really good ball club [Norfolk State], a good program, good coach, and good players. We're just trying to find our way, and tonight was our night and it worked out for us.
On number of three pointers taken by NSU…
"On any given night, everybody's team is different. Was I surprised? Yes and no. Not really, because that's who they are. They took 70 shots and 27 of them were threes. So half and half. The only thing was a lot of their shots were their made shots were off of second chance shots, so we have to get better at that. But the way we played, it was a good game."
On the play of Daniel Akitoby, despite playing in foul trouble…
"He's playing his butt off. He was Defensive Player of the Week last week and he's been giving us great minutes. It's a beautiful thing to watch because he's growing everyday and he's getting better. I'm just glad for him. He works hard and it's paying off. "
"Just like Kam [Hobbs] had eight rebounds, four assists. He played 40 minutes. We have guys that are grinding. Amahrie [Simpkins] played 38 minutes. We're grinding, and Iike I told the guys, nobody feels sorry for us. We only have eight players now, and we just have to keep working. Like I told them, you can only play five at a time anyway. You got to play five, we got to play five. They bought into it and we had a good outcome."
Thoughts on the play of Kameron Hobbs…
"He's dialed in and he's focused. He just has to stay focused and that's a great thing. I'm happy that Will [Thomas] got his 1,000th point tonight. That was a big thing for the program. He's been here from the start. These guys are putting in the work and Kam is just dialed in and focused."
WHAT AWAITS
- The Bears return to action on Saturday (Jan. 25) for a conference home matchup against the Coppin State Eagles. Tip-off at Hill Field House is set for 4 p.m.
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE
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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.
