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Game 9
Opponent: DePaul Blue Demons (6-3)
Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Site: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Ill.
Game Time: 8 p.m.
Series Record: Tied 1-1
Live Stream: ESPN+  
Radio: n/a
Live Stats: www.depaulbluedemons.com
Coaches: MSU -Kevin Broadus (83-101, 7th yr) • DePaul – Chris Holtmann (20-23, 2nd yr)
Websites: www.morganstatebears.com | www.depaulbluedemons.com

SETTING THE STAGE
• The Morgan State Bears (1–7) return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 9, when they travel to face the DePaul Blue Demons in a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (EST) on ESPN+. The Bears have dropped six straight and are coming off an 84–80 setback to Longwood on Saturday. DePaul, meanwhile, has won four of its last five games, including a 76–72 home victory over Arkansas Pine Bluff on Saturday.

•  Max Strus and Eli Cain combined to score 46 points, and DePaul took control early to cruise to its second straight win to start the season, posting a 91-63 victory over Morgan State on Nov. 12, 2018. The senior pair were a combined 16 of 29 from the field, pacing a Blue Devils squad that shot 51.5 percent as a team (35 of 68) and hit 12 of 28 from behind the arc. Martez Cameron finished with 11 points for Morgan State, and freshman guard Malik Miller added 10 points.

• Senior guard Alfred Worrell Jr. played in 32 games and averaged 6.5 points and 1.6 rebounds as a junior at Southern Mississippi last season. He shot 38 percent from the floor, 33 percent from distance, and 87 percent from the free throw line. He enters Tuesday's matchup leading the Bears by averaging 15.3 points on 34 percent shooting from the field.

• Graduate guard Elijah Davis transferred from Bowie State, where he started in every game (30) and averaged 10 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.9 steals, and 31.8 minutes. He also played for Mississippi Valley State (2021-22), Walter State C.C. (2022-23), and Incarnate Word (2023-24). He's averaging 14.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds and is shooting 53 percent from the floor.

• Rob Lawson has emerged as a major spark off the bench to open the 2025–26 season. The senior guard led the Bears with a game-high 20 points, adding five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes at Georgetown on Nov. 11. He followed that effort with another 20-point outing against Central Penn at Hill Field House. He's currently averaging 13.1 points on 39 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.

• Graduate guard Walter Peggs Jr. was a BOXTOROW DII HBCU All-America First Team selection as a standout at Spring Hill College. He became the program's leading scorer in the Division-II era, with 1,137 career points. He also broke the team's two-year career points per game record, averaging 21.3 points per game over two seasons.

• Graduate center Dallas James spent four seasons at South Carolina State before joining the Indiana Hoosiers in 2024-25.

SCOUTING DEPAUL
• Former BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Chris Holtmann, was named as the DePaul men's basketball head coach on March 14, 2024.  Holtmann brings over 25 years of coaching experience to Lincoln Park, including 13 as head coach, where he has amassed a 251-170 (.596) record and eight postseason appearances. Holtmann had an exceptional stretch of 9-straight 20-win seasons and 8-straight NCAA appearances, including five most recently at Ohio State, where he tallied a 137-86 (.617) record. Holtmann is a two-time Naismith National Coach of the Year Award Finalist and three-time conference Coach of the Year, including 2017 BIG EAST Coach of the Year.

• DePaul looks to build on its momentum from the end of the 2024-25 campaign, when the Blue Demons won three of their final four BIG EAST games and made their first postseason appearance since 2019. The program returns three of its top four scorers from last season – NJ Benson, Layden Blocker, and CJ Gunn – and welcomes 11 newcomers, including six transfers and three freshmen. 

• DePaul was picked ninth in the preseason BIG EAST poll, its highest since the Blue Demons were picked eighth in 2015-16.

• DePaul senior guard CJ Gunn was selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Third Team. Gunn returns as DePaul's leading scorer from last season with 12.9 points per game. The Indianapolis, Ind. native averaged 13.7 points in conference play with a total of 21 games last season in double-digit scoring.

• Kruz McClure is shooting 41.9% from beyond the arc with 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Blue Demons, while averaging 8.9 points. CJ Gunn is shooting 43.1% and averaging 13.7 points.

• DePaul's roster features a total of five international student-athletes. The Blue Demons are also tied for the second-most international players in the BIG EAST, behind only St. John 's with seven. Fabián Flores (Spain), Amsal Delalić (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Ilija Milijašević (Serbia), and Khaman Maker (South Sudan) are all the first respective players for the program from their home countries.

• DePaul saw a 15 percent growth in average attendance last year, behind only St. John's for the largest growth among BIG EAST schools. Among that was over a 40 percent growth in student attendance.
 

THE SERIES
• The series is tied 1-1.

• Max Strus and Eli Cain combined to score 46 points, and DePaul took control early to cruise to its second straight win to start the season, posting a 91-63 victory over Morgan State on Nov. 12, 2018.

• Morgan State's last win against DePaul was on Dec. 10, 2008 -- Reggie Holmes recorded 29 points and six rebounds in the Bears' win over DePaul. He connected on 9-of-21 baskets, including 5-for-9 from behind the 3-point arc in Morgan State's first victory over a member of the Big East. Kevin Thompson added a career-high 12 rebounds.

 
NEXT UP
The Bears will host Niagara on Saturday, December 13, inside Hill Field House. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. EST.

AT THE HELM
• Kevin Broadus enters his seventh season at the helm of the program, having been named the men's head basketball coach in 2019.
• The Broadus-led Bears team has compiled several significant victories over non-conference competition, elevating the caliber of wins for a program that aims to compete at a championship level within the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Broadus demonstrated exemplary leadership while successfully overcoming numerous challenges at the onset of his tenure at Morgan, including navigating the rebuilding of a program under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• During the 2024–25 season, the Bears finished with an overall record of 14–18, highlighted by a balanced 7–7 mark in MEAC play. The performance mirrored that of the previous season, when Morgan State went 11–20 overall, while also posting a .500 record in conference competition. In 2022–23, the Bears finished 15–15 overall and 7–7 in the MEAC, following a 13–15 campaign in 2021–22 that saw them place fourth in the league standings and reach the MEAC Tournament semifinals. The year prior, in 2021, Morgan advanced all the way to the MEAC Tournament championship game.
• Before Morgan, Broadus worked at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was one of the nation's best recruiters as the top assistant on Mark Turgeon's coaching staff. Broadus was influential in the successful NCAA tournament run for the Terps.
• Consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally for recruiting, Broadus was instrumental in signing several local Baltimore talents such as DeJuan Summers, Brandon Herbert, LaFonta Johnson, and Henry Sims.

WHO'S OUT
Kameron Hobbs (Stockbridge, Ga./Dutchtown HS), Wynston Tabbs (Suitland, Md./St. Mary's Ryken School HS), Amahrie Simpkins (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Will Thomas (Baltimore, Md./Mervo HS) wrapped up their collegiate careers and graduated last spring. 
• Hobbs, a BOXTOROW HBCU First Team All-American, passed Jimmy Fields (139) to become No. 6 on Morgan State's all-time 3-point field goals leaderboard. He completed his career with 150 3-pointers.

WHO'S BACK
The Bears return three starters from last year's team, bringing back guard Rob Lawson and forward Trent Edwards. MSU also returns Christian Oliver, who was on the squad during the 2023-24 season.

WHO'S IN 
The Bears have added several newcomers to the 2025-26 roster: G Elijah Davis (Bowie State), G Alfred Worrell Jr. (Southern Mississippi), and G Christian Meeks (Waubonsee C.C.). Newcomers also include F  Eugene Alvin (Florida Southwestern) and F Manok Lual (Frostburg State), along with C Dallas James, a transfer from Indiana.

RETURNING PRODUCTION NUMBERS 
Morgan State returns 16.6 percent of its scoring, 18.7 percent of its rebounding, and 23.8 percent of its minutes played totals from last year's team. The team leaders in field goal percentage (Rob Lawson - .350), three-point percentage (Rob Lawson, .379), free throw percentage (Rob Lawson., .747), rebounding (Rob Lawson - 2.6 rpg), assists (Rob Lawson, 2.4), steals (Rob Lawson, 0.9), blocked shots (Trent Edwards, 1.0), and minutes played (Rob Lawson, 26.7).  Rob Lawson (23) is the only returner who has started in at least five (5) games a year ago.

HOME GROWN
Morgan State has five (5) players from the DMV (D.C., Maryland & Metropolitan-D.C.) area. Senior guard Rob Lawson is from Capitol Heights and played at National Christian Academy. Veteran guard Elijah Davis hails from Severn, Md., and played at Incarnate Word. Redshirt senior forward Jayden Socka is from Silver Spring, Md., and attended Springbrook HS. Graduate student guard Alfred Worrell Jr. and freshman David Bumpass are from Washington, D.C. Worrell went to Montgomery Blair HS, and Bumpass attended Friendship Tech Prep Academy.

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTION
Graduate student Walter Peggs Jr., a transfer from Spring Hill College, was named to the preseason All-MEAC Third Team.
• Peggs was a BOXTOROW Division II HBCU All-America First Team selection and became the first player in program history to earn two BOXTOROW HBCU All-America honors. He was also a SIAC First Team All-Conference pick and was named to the NABC Honors Court.
• At Spring Hill, Peggs became the program's Division II era career scoring leader with 1,137 points and set the two-year career scoring average record at 21.3 points per game. He started all 26 games last season, averaging a career-best 26.0 points and 35.6 minutes per game. Peggs totaled 676 points to set the program's Division II single-season scoring record, while adding 92 rebounds. He also set Division II era records with 99 made three-pointers and 151 made free throws. Peggs shot career highs of 48.2% (213-442) from the field, 42.1% (99-235) from three-point range, and 87.8% (151-172) from the free-throw line.

TABBED TO FINISH FOURTH
The Morgan State men's basketball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's preseason poll, announced by the conference today.
• The 2025-26 Bears earned 73 total points in the voting. Norfolk State claimed 12 first-place votes and 118 points total as the defending MEAC champions. Howard (97 pts) was selected second, followed by South Carolina State in third place (90 pts). Delaware State (70 pts), North Carolina Central (70 pts), Maryland Eastern Shore (31 pts), and Coppin State (27 pts) rounded out the league's predicted order of finish.

DISHING DIMES
Elijah Davis, a standout player hailing from Severn, Maryland, has quickly established himself as a premier playmaker in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Through the first eight games of the season, Davis has been a consistent force in distributing the ball, recording 38 assists. He currently ranks No. 2 in the MEAC for assists and is averaging 4.8 assists per contest. Davis is not just racking up numbers; he's orchestrating the offense and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates, making him a pivotal asset for his squad.

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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.