Score: Morgan State 76 | Maryland Eastern Shore 63
Location: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Records: Morgan State 10-12, 4-2 | Maryland Eastern Shore 4-17, 0-5
The short story:  Morgan State maintained control throughout the game, winning 76-63 against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House. Will Thomas scored a team-high 24 points to lead the Bears to their third straight win.
 

OPENING TIP

• Will Thomas shot 9-for-18 from the field, including 4-for-7 from the free-throw line, and grabbed six rebounds in 38 minutes.
• Kameron Hobbs, who entered the game with an 8-game streak of scoring 20 or more points, finished with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, with six assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes.
• Amahrie Simpkins had 11 points and with four boards and Rob Lawson added 10 points and five assists.
• Evan Johnson led the Hawks with a game-high 25 points, while Ketron Shaw, the No. 3 ranked scorer in the MEAC (18.6 ppg), contributed 12 points (4-12 FG) with five boards and a block, Christopher Flippin and Jalen Ware chipped in eight points apiece.
   
  

THE DIFFERENCE

• Morgan State shot 43 percent (29-66) from the field, including 35 percent (7-20) from 3-point territory. The Eagles shot  37 percent (23-62) from the floor and was 4-for-22 from behind the arc.
• Morgan State shot 50.9% (27-53) from the field compared to UMES's 39.3% (22-56). The Bears knocked down 33.3% (4-12) of their three-pointers, while UMES struggled at 23.8% (5-21).
• At the free-throw line, Morgan converted 64.3% (18-28) compared to UMES's 73.7% (14-19).
• The Bears held a narrow edge in rebounding, with a total of 36 boards compared to UMES's 34, including 26 defensive rebounds.
• Morgan utilized their fastbreak opportunities effectively, outscoring the Hawks 21-14 in that category.
• Will Thomas split a pair of free throws and fed Kiran Oliver for a two-handed dunk to help spark a 12-2 run. A dunk by Jaden Martin extended the Bears lead to 27-14 with just over 7 minutes remaining in the half. 
• The Hawks outscored the Bears 13-5 in the final minutes behind the play of Evan Johnson who scored 7 points during the stretch. Morgan went into the intermission clinging to a 32-27 lead.
• After the break, the Hawks outscored the Bears 14-8 and a 3-pointer by Johnson gave UMES their first lead at 41-40 with 15:58 remaining.
• Oliver buried a three to help the Bears recapture the lead at 44-41 with 15 minutes left to go and the Bears would never trail from that point forward. 
• Morgan held a slim lead as the Hawks remained close but that's when Will Thomas took the game over during a pivotal run. The senior first sank a jumper, then capitalized on a fastbreak layup. Moments later he drained a 3-pointer to help push the Bears lead to 55-48 with just under 11 minutes to go.
• The Bears lead grew to 59-48 when Jaden Martin threw down his second dunk of the night. At that point, the Hawks struggled to keep up as the Bears' offense as they cruised to a commanding 76-63 victory.
   

NOTABLE

• With the win, Morgan increased their series record against the Hawks to 59-42. 
• Morgan's home record improves to 10-3.
• Morgan's record improves to 7-1 when leading at the half.
• The win strengthens Morgan's position in the conference standings, improving to 4-2 in league play.
• Will Thomas has scored 316 points so far this season, bringing his career total to 1,049 points… surpassing Phil Pugh (1969-73) for the No. 25 spot on Morgan's all-time scoring list.
• Freshman forwards Matar Wade fouled out in the second half after being accessed a technical foul.
  
  

WHAT AWAITS

• The Bears return to action on Monday, Feb. 3 against the Delaware State Hornets. Tip-off at Memorial Hall is set for 7:30 p.m.