The Morgan State Bears ended a two-game slump and advanced to a 5-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) record—good for fifth place in the MEAC standings, after handling the Delaware State Hornets, 77-64, on Feb. 1 at Hill Field House in Baltimore, Md.
Morgan State had lost in back-to-back games to North Carolina Central and N.C. A&T. But being back home in Baltimore must have rejuvenated the Bears as they did just enough to put an end to the brief losing funk.
It was a tight contest for most of the game as the lead exchanged seven times, as reported by the Morgan State Sports Information. But senior center Ian Chiles made big plays down the stretch to help his team pull away with the win. Chiles finished with 24 points, 19 of which scored in the second half. He also nailed a jump hook in the final minutes of the game that gave Morgan a cushion for their lead, according to MSU Sports Information.
“He was big,” said Bears head coach Todd Bozeman, according to MSU Sports Information. “He’s a guy that teams gear their defense up to stop. He’s been having a great year and we’re just going to keep going to him. He answered the bell and answered the call and he didn’t have a great game against N.C. Central, so I know he wanted to come back and have a good game.”
Senior guard Justin Black scored 14 points for Morgan State while sophomore forward Cedric Blossom added a double-double of 13 points with 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Casey Walker led the Hornets with 14 points in the loss.
Morgan State will next host the Hampton Pirates on Feb. 3 at Hill Field House.
