MSU Gamnotes
Game 24
No. 20 Morgan State (16-7, 8-0 MEAC) vs. Florida A&M (5-16, 2-6 MEAC)
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 – 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Hill Field House – Baltimore, Md.
The Opening Tip
No. 20 Morgan State, the 2009 MEAC champion, will attempt to extend its 8-game winning streak when they host conference opponent Florida A&M (5-16, 2-6 MEAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Hill Field House. The game will mark the 49th meeting between the teams. If the game on Saturday.
The Last Time Out
Reggie Holmes scored 26 points and Kevin Thompson grabbed 20 rebounds to help Morgan State defeat North Carolina A&T 74-65 on Monday night. The Bears (16-7, 8-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) jumped out to a 14-4 lead after two free throws by Rodney Stokes with 13:08 left in the first half and didn't trail the rest of the way.
Florida A&M’s Last Game
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Feb. 1) – The South Carolina State Bulldogs rallied from an early first half deficit to defeat the Florida A&M University Rattler basketball team, 77-62 in a nationally-televised Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s game at the Alfred Lawson Center Monday night. FAMU was led by Dale Hughes with 19 points and junior Rasheem Jenkins with 13 points, as both players hit a trio of three-pointers. Christopher Walker led the Rattlers with six rebounds.
Series History
Saturday’s game will be the 49th meeting between Morgan State and Florida A&M in men’s basketball ... Florida A&M holds a 32-16 record against the Bears since the series began during the 1987-88 season ... In the first meeting between the teams, the Rattlers defeated in overtime the Bears by a score of 105-99 ... The Bears have won in two of the last three meetings, including the last two straight ... The last time the Rattlers defeated Morgan State was during the 2008-09 season when they dropped the Bears 63-58 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Holming In
♦ Morgan State senior guard Reggie Holmes will enter Saturday's contest averaging 22.8 points per game, including four 30 point outings thru 23 games. He currently leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring and ranks in the NCAA Top 10 (ranked No. 5).
Thompson’s Hospitality
♦ Morgan State forward Kevin Thompson was named to the Freshmen Mid-Major All-America team by Collegeinsider.com at the end of the last season. Thompson has led Morgan State in rebounding 20 times in 2009-10 and 36 times in his career. Thompson is among the nation's leaders in rebounds ... he ranks No. 4 (12.4 rpg) and has posted 25 rebounds in a game which is an NCAA single-game high for this season.
Numbers Game
♦ Morgan State has won eight straight, including 11 of its last 14.
♦ Morgan State collected 193 points to move up from No. 23 to No. 20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll on Monday. The Bears fee ahead of Portland at No. 21 (162 points) and behind 19-ranked College of Charleston (122 points). The No. 1 position is cirrently held by Butler ((760 points).
♦ The Bears are 5-0 thus far at home; Todd Bozeman has led the Bears to a 29-5 (.853) current home record inside the confines of Hill Field House.
♦ Morgan State has won 10 straight regular season conference games since last season.
♦ Senior guard Troy Smith scored a career-best 18 points in an overtime win at Norfolk State (Jan. 31), followed by 16 points at N.C. A&T on Feb. 1.
♦The Bears shot a season-high 54.5% (30-55 FG) from the field and outscored Winston-Salem State in the paint 42-to-32.
♦ MSU ranks No. 1 in the MEAC in rebounding margin by holding a 954-838 total rebound advantage over its opponents.
♦ Freshman DeWayne Jackson is MSU's 3rd leading scorer by averaging 10.3 ppg thru 23 games ... he's been selected three times as the MEAC Rookie of the Week and ranks No. 2 in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (.457).
♦ The final 3 minutes has been critical in the Bears’ success this season… Morgan State is 14-2 this season when leading with 3 minutes to go and 2-5 when trailing with 3 minutes left.
♦ Junior point guard Danny Smith currently ranks among the MEAC leaders in assists ranked 6th (3.8 apg) and ranked 1st in assist/turnover ratio (2.2) … The junior finished with 10 assists against Towson on Dec.22.
♦ Morgan State’s Reggie Holmes has been named the MEAC Player of the Week five times so far this season and Kevin Thompson has also been named six times as Defensive Player of the Week and once as the MEAC Player of the Week.