Game 20
Opponent: Howard Bison (12-8, 2-2 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026
Site: Burr Gymnasium, Washington, D.C.
Game Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series Record: MSU leads the series 67-54
TV: ESPNU 
Live Stats: www.hubison.com
Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (88-107, 7th yr) • HU – Kenneth Blakeney  (85-104, 7th yr)
Websites: www.morganstatebears.com | www.hubison.com

SETTING THE STAGE
• The Morgan State men's basketball team will look to add to the win column on Saturday, Jan. 24, as the Bears travel to Washington, D.C., to face the Howard Bison at Burr Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPNU. Morgan State enters the matchup with momentum after securing a 128–53 non-conference home victory over Virginia-Lynchburg on Tuesday, while Howard comes in riding a three-game winning streak following a 78–69 win over Morehouse on Monday (Jan. 19).

• 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 enters Saturday's matchup leading the Bears by averaging 15.7 points on 40 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point territory.

• 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 13.4 points on 39 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 12.7 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds and is shooting 48 percent from the floor.

• 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. Peggs is currently averaging 8.8 points and 1.9 rebounds.

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

SCOUTING HOWARD BISON
• Head coach Kenneth Blakeney enters his seventh season leading the Howard men's basketball program in 2019-20. He has coached at seven Division I universities for 12 years. Blakeney was a McDonalds All- American and Gatorade Player of the Year at the famed DeMatha Catholic HS, and played at Duke under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

• The Bison were picked to finish second in the MEAC Preseason Poll, finished the regular season with a 12-20 overall record (7-7 MEAC), and lost to Morgan State, 91-90, in the MEAC Tournament Quarterfinals. Graduate guard Bryce Harris (Brentwood, N.Y.) was selected to the MEAC Preseason First Team, while Cam Gillus was assigned to the Second Team, and Cedric Taylor III was named to the Third Team.  

• Howard's roster consists of eight freshmen, two sophomores, three juniors, two seniors, and a graduate student.

• Winners of three straight, the Bison enter Saturday's contest against Morgan State aiming to push their streak to four games.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BISON
•  Jan. 19, 2026 -  Senior guard Ose Okojie scored a career-high 21 points and junior guard Cedric Taylor III and sophomore forward Travelle Bryson had 16 points and 12 points, respectively, but it was some clutch free throw shooting and a strong defensive stand down the stretch that propelled the Howard University men's basketball team to a 78-69 victory over Morehouse College in the annual MLK Day Classic at Burr Gymnasium.

HOWARD BY THE NUMBERS
• 69.6: Howard ranks No. 1 in the MEAC, limiting opponents to an average of 69.6 points per game.
• 72.3: The Bison have the No. 3-ranked scoring offense in the conference. 
• .438: On average, Howard is shooting 43.8 percent from the field (No. 3).
• 16.5: Bryce Harris has been Howard's leading scorer (No. 3) this season and is shooting 44 percent from the field (No. 3).

THE SERIES
• MSU leads the series 67-54.
• Howard has won the last four meetings against Morgan State.
• MSU's last win against VUL was on February 22, 2025 -- Cameron Shockley and Blake Harper combined for 45 points to lead the Howard Bison men's basketball team to an 87-81 victory against Beltway rival Morgan State at Hill Field House. The Bison shot 46.4% from the field, led by Cameron Shockley-Okeke, who finished with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting and contributed 3 rebounds. 
• Morgan's last win against Howard was on January 27, 2024 -- Wynston Tabbs and Will Thomas combined for 44 points to lead Morgan State to an 85-79 victory against Beltway rival Howard at Hill Field House. Thomas scored a game-high 24 points on an efficient 11-of-17 shooting from the field in 33 minutes. He also had five rebounds and a blocked shot. Tabbs scored 10 of his 20 points (4-9 3FG) in the closing moments to seal the Bears' victory.

UP NEXT
Morgan State returns to action on Monday, Jan. 26, as the Bears travel to the Tidewater area for a conference showdown against the Norfolk State Spartans at Joseph Echols Hall in Norfolk, Virginia.

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 conference record. 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 (90 pts) in third place. 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.

WORRELL HEATING UP
• Senior guard Alfred Worrell Jr. has been on a scoring tear over the last five games, erupting for 87 points (17.4 per game) while shooting an efficient 27-of-58 (.466) from the field and 18-of-43 (.420) from beyond the arc. 
• The hot stretch has helped Worrell climb to No. 4 in the MEAC in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game.
• Worrell, a Washington, D.C., product, has reached the 20-point mark six times this season, highlighted by a season-high 32-point explosion against Penn State Brandywine on Dec. 30, 2025. 


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 website of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios, and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
 Facebook: /MorganStateBears
 Twitter: @MorganStBears
 Instagram: /MorganStateBears

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.