MSU Gamenotes
Game 10
Morgan State (4-5, 1-0 MEAC) vs. No. 25 Louisville (10-0, 0-0 Big East)
Monday, Dec. 27, 2010 – 7 p.m. (ET)
KFC Yumi! Center – Louisville, Ky.
Television – WHAS TV (Ch. 11 in Louisville)
Radio – WKRD 790 AM
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com; www.uoflsports.com
Follow Morgan State men's basketball on twitter @morganstbears for in-game updates and the latest news on the squad.
The Opening Tip
Morgan State, the 2010 MEAC champions, will take on No. 25 Louisville on Monday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. at the KFC Yumi! Center in Louisville, Ky. MSU 4-5 will look to rebound from a 97-55 non-conference loss at No. 5 Syracuse on Dec. 20 at the Carrier Dome. Louisville dropped Western Kentucky 114-82 on Wednesday night at the E.A. Diddle Arena to improve to 10-1. Monday night's game will mark the third meeting between the teams, Louisville holds a 2-0 advantage.
The Last Time Out
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 5 Syracuse (12-0) collected its second highest output of the season en route to a convincing, 97-55 victory against Morgan State (4-5), on Monday at the Carrier Dome. James Southerland scored a career-high 18 points off the bench to help lead the Orange to their 12th straight victory of the season.
Louisville's Last Game
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Peyton Siva poured in a career-high 29 points and Louisville raced past Western Kentucky 114-82 on Wednesday night. Siva added a career-high eight assists as the Cardinals (10-1) easily passed their first road test of the season. Louisville shot 65 percent from the floor and made 16 of 30 3-pointers.
Thompson's Hospitality
♦ MSU junior
Kevin Thompson is set to lead the Bears this season...the 6-foot-9 forward was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was the league's most dominant post player during the 2009-10 season ... As a sophomore, Thompson averaged 12.7 points per game, 11.9 rebounds (4th best in the nation) and completed the season with 22 double-doubles (pts & rebs). He has started the 2010-11 season by notching six double-double performances in nine games, including a 25 points and 10 rebounds outing against LaSalle (Nov. 20) and had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the loss at No. 5 Syracuse.
Numbers Game
♦ Morgan State's starting backcourt of
Larry Bastfield and DeWayne Thompson is combining to averaging 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. The tandem is also shooting 35.8 percent (59-of-165) from the floor.
♦ Thru nine games this season,
DeWayne Jackson leads the Bears in scoring (14.7 ppg) followed by
Kevin Thompson (14.1 ppg).
♦ Morgan State completed the 2009-10 season as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champs, it marked the Bears second consecutive MEAC Title and they also captured their third consecutive regular season title.
♦
DeWayne Jackson, the 2010 MEAC Rookie of the Year, had a career-high 31 point explosion against Loyola Marymount in the Bears season-opener, but was held to 6 points (0-5 3FG) at Providence and 7 points at LaSalle. He led the Bears with 15 points against UMBC.
♦ The Bears are limiting opponents to shooting 30.9 percent from downtown, which ranks 2nd in the MEAC for 3-point field goal percentage defense.
♦ The Bears had five players score in double-figures during their win against UMBC on Dec. 18 ...
DeWayne Jackson (15),
Kevin Thompson (14),
Aric Brooks (14),
Justin Black (10), and
Tola Lawal (10).
♦ A portion of the credit for Morgan's wins should go to the defense, which is holding opponents to 42 percent shooting from the floor this season. In each of the Bears' four wins, they have held opponents to shooting 39 percent or below.
♦ Morgan State will return to action on Thursday (Dec. 30) against Robert Morris in Hill Field House.
