Morgan State downs UMES 85 to 82
Now that’s more like it. After enduring a losing streak that ballooned up to 7 games, the Morgan State men’s basketball team finally got a victory by knocking off Maryland-Eastern Shore 82-85 in Baltimore last night.
Coach Todd Bozeman’s team trailed by as many as 18 points at the start of the second half when Logan McIntosh’s jumper went through the nets. The Bears then reeled off 16 unanswered points to make the game nip and tuck the rest of the way.
UMES helped Morgan out by missing their next 9 shots and turning the rock over 5 times. Bozeman’s squad finally got some help from another player other than Tiwian Kendley and Phillip Carr although those two once again fortified the Bear’s scoring. Sophomore forward David Syfax chipped in 13 points to help balance Carr’s 19 points and 11 boards along with Kendley’s 28 points, including the last 7 of the game for Morgan.
A steal by Cameron Martez and dish to Kendley gave the Bears their first lead at 78-77, a lead they would not relinquish with 49 seconds to go. The Hawks had four players score in double figures, led by McIntosh’s 24. Miryne Thomas, Ahmad Frost and Tyler Jones scored 18, 15 and 11 respectively.
Although Morgan gave up 12 three pointers to the Hawks while only making 4 of their own, they made up for that disparity at the free throw line making 25 compared to 6 by UMES. Morgan’s first conference win brings their record to 5-9 on the year while dropping the Hawks to 4-12.
Next up for the Bears will be a conference game on the road against the Rattlers of Florida A&M. The game takes place Saturday, January 6 at 4 pm. As I’ve mentioned before, when Morgan is getting contributions from guys not named Phillip or Tiwian, good things happen. Here’s hoping that trend continues this weekend.
