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Game 23
Opponent: Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (8-16, 4-3 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026
Site: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Series Record: Morgan State leads the series 60-43
TV: ESPN+ 
Live Stats: www.morganstatebears.com
Coaches: MSU -Kevin Broadus (91-107, 7th yr) • UMES – Cleo Hill Jr. (14-41, 2nd yr)
Websites: www.morganstatebears.com | www.coppinstatesports.com

SETTING THE STAGE
• Morgan State men's basketball returns to Hill Field House on Saturday night for a key matchup against Maryland Eastern Shore. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Fans who can't make it in person can stream all the action live on ESPN+. The Bears head into the contest riding a 5-game winning streak after an 89–80 MEAC road victory over Coppin State last Saturday. UMES, meanwhile, will look to rebound from a 63–54 road loss at South Carolina State on Feb. 5, aiming to snap a three-game losing streak.
• Saturday's contest will also serve as Morgan State's celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day, recognizing the achievements, impact, and continued growth of girls and women in athletics.
• Senior guard Alfred Worrell Jr. appeared in 32 games as a junior at Southern Mississippi last season, averaging 6.5 points and 1.6 rebounds. Now a key piece for the Bears, he enters Saturday's matchup as the team's leading scorer at 17.2 points per game, shooting 40 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc. Worrell heads into the contest fresh off a game-high 24-point performance at Coppin State, and being named MEAC Player of the Week (Feb. 2).
• 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 averaging 13.5 points per game while shooting 39 percent 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 13.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.9 rebounds and is shooting 47 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 8.4 points and 1.9 rebounds.

SCOUTING UMES
• Cleo Hill, Jr., was named the head men's basketball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in June of 2024. A veteran coach, Hill comes to UMES with 17 seasons of head coaching experience, as well as a variety of assistant coaching roles and an impressive collegiate playing career at North Carolina Central University. Hill spent the previous six seasons as the head coach of the Rams at Winston-Salem State University. Last season, Hill led the Rams to a 19-9 overall record along with a perfect 6-0 record in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Northern Division. With the top record in the CIAA, the Rams were ranked in the D2CSC Atlantic Poll eight times. 

• Maryland Eastern Shore was picked to finish seventh in the league. UMES finished last season with a 6-25 record and went 2-12 in conference play.

• Senior 6-9 forward Joseph Locandro (Melbourne, Australia) and 6-8 guard/forward Zion Obanla (Houston, Texas) currently lead the Hawks in scoring. Locandro, a transfer from Mazenod College, is averaging 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, and is shooting 51% from the field and 44% from the three. Obanla, a transfer from Claflin College, is averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and is shooting 61 percent from the field. Junior 6-0 guard Justin Monden (Raleigh, N.C.) is averaging 7.1 points and is shooting 43% from the field.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE HAWKS
• February 4, 2026 -  Turnovers plagued the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks in a 63-54 loss at South Carolina State on Wednesday. Jaden Cooper led UMES scorers with 19 points. Zion Obanla added 10 points. No other Hawk player had more than seven points
• With Wednesday's result, UMES has dropped three straight contests.

UMES BY THE NUMBERS
• 70.5: UMES currently ranks No. 3 in the MEAC in defense.
• 5.3:  Zion Obanla leads UMES in rebounding (ranks No. 6 in the MEAC).
• .447: The Hawks rank No. 2 in the MEAC in field goal percentage.
• .435: UMES ranks No. 2 in the MEAC in field goal percentage defense.

THE SERIES
• MSU leads the series 60-43.
• Maryland Eastern Shore's last win against Morgan was on January 3, 2026 -- Morgan State opened Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play with a 66–49 setback to Maryland Eastern Shore at the Hytche Center. Dorion Staples led all scorers with 16 points as the Hawks snapped a seven-game losing streak. Alfred Worrell Jr. paced the Bears with 15 points and had a team-high six rebounds.

• Morgan's last win against UMES was on February 1, 2025 -- Morgan State secured a hard-fought 75-72 victory over the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Saturday, fueled by a strong performance from senior forward Daniel Akitoby. Akitoby's team-high 23 points proved crucial as the Bears weathered a late rally from the Hawks at the Hytche Center. 

THE SERIES
• MSU leads the series 60-43.
• Maryland Eastern Shore's last win against Morgan was on January 3, 2026 -- Morgan State opened Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play with a 66–49 setback to Maryland Eastern Shore at the Hytche Center. Dorion Staples led all scorers with 16 points as the Hawks snapped a seven-game losing streak. Alfred Worrell Jr. paced the Bears with 15 points and had a team-high six rebounds.
• Morgan's last win against UMES was on February 1, 2025 -- Morgan State secured a hard-fought 75-72 victory over the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Saturday, fueled by a strong performance from senior forward Daniel Akitoby. Akitoby's team-high 23 points proved crucial as the Bears weathered a late rally from the Hawks at the Hytche Center. 

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 JR. HEATING UP
• One of the hottest players in the Northeast right now is senior guard Alfred Worrell Jr., who was recently named MEAC Player of the Week (Feb. 2).
• The Washington, D.C. native powered Morgan State to two big wins this past week with back-to-back standout performances. Worrell erupted for 33 points at Norfolk State, sealing the dramatic 79–78 victory with a clutch pull-up jumper in the closing moments.
• He followed that up with a game-high 24 points at Coppin State, shooting an efficient 9-for-12 from the field and 9-for-11 at the free-throw line as the Bears won 89-80 in Baltimore's East vs. West rivalry. The scoring outbursts marked Worrell's ninth 20+ point performance of the season.
• Behind his leadership, Morgan State has now won five straight games, including four consecutive MEAC road victories — the program's longest conference road win streak since the 2009–10 season, when the Bears won seven in a row.

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. 
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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.