DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Junior forward Phillip Carr scored a game-high 25 points to lead Morgan State to a 69-63 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory on Saturday night at the L. Gale Lemerand Fitness Center on the campus of Daytona State College.
It was the fourth consecutive 20-point game for Carr who shot 11-for-19 from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point territory. Senior forward Kyle Thomas matched his season-high with 16 points off the bench as the Bears (5-10, 2-0) notched their second straight win. Sophomore point guard Martez Cameron added 11 points and seven assists.
Reggie Baker had 18 points (9-18 FG), while Quinton Forrest scored 15 points for the Wildcats (3-12, 0-2), who have dropped four in a row.
Morgan State posted its first road victory since Feb. 27, 2016, when they beat Baltimore rival Coppin State in a 74-72 overtime thriller.
Thomas buried back-to-back 3-pointers as a part of a 10-2 run that helped give the Bears a 52-47 lead with 9:51 remaining. A tip-in by Carr gave the Bears its largest lead of the second half at 56-49 (7:35).
The Wildcats mounted an 8-0 run and a layup by Ulmer Manzie gave the ‘Cats a 57-56 lead. But Carr once again made his presence felt by hitting a 3-point dagger with 1:21 remaining to provide just enough of a cushion as Morgan State held on to the win.
The Bears held a commanding 54-34 rebounding advantage, and Morgan State’s bench outscored B-CU by a 20-10 margin.
Carr and Cameron combined for 8 points (4 apiece) during an 11-3 run in the opening 4 minutes of the game.
Carr buried a shot to give the Bears a 22-13 lead, but B-CU responded by outscoring the Bears by a 19-8 margin and took a 2-point lead (32-30) into the halftime.
Carr led all scorers with 16 first-half points.
The Bears return to the hardwood on Tuesday, Jan. 10 when they take on the Florida A&M Rattlers (4-11, 2-0) at 7 p.m., in the Al Lawson Center on the campus of Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida.
Bear Note:
It was the first time win against the Wildcats in Daytona Beach since February 7, 2011.
Courtesy: Morgan State Athletics
Other MEAC Scores
Florida A&M 54, Coppin State 53
Derrick Dandridge’s high-flying tip-in with 0.4 seconds left lifted the FAMU Men’s Basketball team past Coppin State, 54-53 in a tightly-contested Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at the Al Lawson Center Saturday night.
Delaware State 55, North Carolina A&T State 53
Senior DeAndre Haywood hit a driving shot in the lane with 0.3 seconds left to give Delaware State a 55-53 come-from-behind victory over North Carolina A&T in the Hornets’ 2016-17 MEAC opener at the Corbett Sports Center Saturday.
Columbia 66, Howard 48
The inability to score and some long scoring droughts proved to be the difference as Howard University dropped its fifth straight, 66-48 to Columbia in a non-conference game at the Levien Center.
