Boxscore
DOVER, Del. – The Bears entered tonight's game attempting to bounce back from their first conference loss since February 2009, and they appeared hungry to get back in the win column.
Reggie Holmes scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half and Morgan State outlasted the Hornets 68-65 on Wednesday night at Memorial Hall in front of a packed crowd.
With the win the Bears improved to 20-8 (11-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) and maintained their 3-game lead with four games left to play to clinch their third consecutive regular season conference championship.
Kevin Thompson had 14 points and 10 rebounds -- his 17th double-double of the season for Morgan State, which finished with a 40-21 rebound advantage.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Hornets, who fell to 14-10 and 9-4. Delaware State was limited to 36 percent (20-55) shooting from the field, while the Bears shot 49 percent (25-51), including 15-for-20 from the free throw line.
Morgan State (No. 13 in Mid-Major Poll) led 30-26 at halftime and had its biggest lead of the game at 48-37 on a 3-pointer by Holmes with 10:10 to play. Holmes scored 11 of his 17 points during the Bears second half surge.
But the Hornets continued to battle and trimmed the Bears lead to 61-60 following a basket by Frisco Sandidge (12 pts) and a 3-pointer by Chad Wilson (8 pts).
Delaware State had possession with 2:28 left to go and down one when Jay Threat was fouled and sent to the line for a pair. Threat hit one of two from the stripe, knotting the ballgame at 61-61.
Morgan State senior Troy Smith hit a jumper to help the Bears reclaim the lead at 63-61, and with inside of a minute left to go, Threat turned the ball over, and Holmes made them pay on the other end with a basket to push the lead to 65-61 with 40 seconds to go.
Following a basket by Marcus Neal with 29 seconds left, the Hornets relied on the Bears to miss free throws down the stretch. Morgan State ended up converting 3-for-4 from the stripe in the remaining seconds, Marques Oliver's 3-pointer in the final seconds was no good. Game over.
Morgan State has won seven in a row against Delaware State, including their earlier meeting this season in Baltimore (Jan. 23, 72-62).
Morgan State jumped out to an early 8-0 lead just three minutes into the game, but Delaware State responded with eight unanswered points and Threat's 3-pointers knotted the ballgame at 8-8 with 13:48 left.
The Hornets took its first lead of the game when Frisco Sandidge scored on a layup to give the Hornets a 14-13 lead with 7:07 remaining in the opening half.
Holmes got off to a slow start for the Bears as a result of early foul trouble. The senior picked up his second offensive foul of the game and went to the bench at the 4 minute mark with the Bears trailing 20-18.
Kevin Thompson hit back-to-back baskets inside the paint to help the Bears extend to a 30-24 lead, the largest of the game. The Bears established Thompson in the paint during the early going and the sophomore led all scorers with 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Marcus Neal hit a jumper just before the buzzer to trim the Bears advantage to 30-26 at halftime.
The Bears owned the boards in the first half by outrebounding the Hornets during the early going by a 23-12 margin. Holmes, one of the nation's leading scorers, went into the halftime with two points.
Morgan State will return to action on Saturday (Feb. 20) when they face Murray State a Bracketbusters matchup. The game will be televised by ESPNU and will tip-off at noon.
