Sophomore Kevin Thompson dropped a double-double on the Cardinals with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Boxscore
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Morgan State played throughout most of today's game with their leading scorer sitting on the bench in foul trouble.
Senior guard Reggie Holmes, who entered the game fresh off a career-high 30-point performance against East Tennessee State on Thursday night, scored 9 points (4-12 FG) before fouling out against nationally ranked Louisville (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP).
Despite missing their leading scorer on the floor, the Bears fought hard before eventually falling to the Cardinals 90-81 at Freedom Hall on Sunday afternoon. The loss snapped MSU's 3-game winning streak, and its best start in 31 years.
Freshman swingman DeWayne Jackson led Morgan State (2-1) with a season-high 21 points, and sophomore Kevin Thompson notched his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the defending MEAC champions, who kept things interesting late into the second half.
MSU used an 11-2 run midway through the second half and a Thompson basket in the lane helped trim Louisville's lead to 65-60 with 9:43 remaining in the game. Less than a minute later, Holmes was hit with his 4th foul of the contest and was sent to the bench.
The Bears drew within 74-67 with 5:23 remaining, but Louisville countered with a 10-2 run highlighted by a dunk from freshman forward Rakeem Buckles.
Samardo Samuels scored 23 points to go with 12 rebounds, Preston Knowles added 13 points, and Edgar Sosa had 12 points for the Cardinals (3-0), who struggled to put away the Bears.
The Cardinals held on behind solid free-throw shooting. Louisville made 33-of-41 (80.5 pct.) from the line, while the Bears went just 18-of-24(75.0 pct.) from the stripe.
The Bears went toe-to-toe with Louisville on the glass the entire game and was outrebounded by a slim 45-43 margin.
Morgan will continue the next leg of its three-game road swing when it travels to tip-off against Arkansas (Nov. 24; 8 p.m.), and Appalachian State (Nov. 28; 3 p.m.).
BEAR NOTES
MSU had four of its five starters foul out of the ballgame
Junior Rodney Stokes was two rebounds shy of posting his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 8 rebounds
The two teams combined for 26 turnovers, 13 apiece
Reggie Holmes' 9 points was his lowest scoring output since scoring 7 points at Hampton back on February 23, 2009
