THE GAME
Teams: South Carolina State (12-16, 7-4) vs. Morgan State (9-18 overall, 5-6 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024
Site: Hill Field House, Baltimore, Md.
Game Time: 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Series Record: SCSU leads the series 45-42
Live Stream: here
Live Stats: here
Radio: Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com)
Coaches: MSU - Kevin Broadus (66-73, 5th yr) | SCSU - Erik Martin (17-42, 2nd)
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.sccuathletics.com

SETTING THE STAGE
The South Carolina State men's basketball team will play a pivotal matchup for conference tournament seeding Saturday afternoon when they take on Morgan State at Hill Field House. The conference race is tighter than ever, and the Bulldogs are in 2^nd place and look to extend their winning streak to four in a row, while the Bears currently tied for fifth place and look to snap a 3-game losing streak. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. at Hill Field House.
 
The game will be broadcast by the Heritage Radio Sports Network (HSRN.com) and streamed live on Morgan Athletics website.

BULLDOG BITES
• Erik Martin is entering his second season as the head men's basketball coach at South Carolina State University. Martin, was one of the top assistant coaches in Division I basketball, has over 20 years of coaching experience and 18 years on the Division I level. He most recently served 16 seasons as an assistant coach under legendary and Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins at West Virginia. As a Division I assistant, Martin has worked with numerous professional players, including five NBA players (All-American Kevin Jones, Joe Alexander, Devin Ebanks, Bill Walker, and Cartier Martin) as well as Derek Culver, Sagaba Konate, Devin Williams and John Flowers. While at West Virginia in 2007, the Mountaineers won the 2010 Big East Championship and have advanced to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2010 Final Four and five NCAA Sweet 16s. Martin has helped guide the Mountaineers to 326 victories.
• South Carolina State was picked last in the conference's predicted order of finish.  South Carolina State sophomore guard Jordan Simpson was selected to the Preseason All-MEAC Men's Third Team. Simpson., native of Orangeburg, SC played appeared in 30 contests for the Bulldogs averaging 17.8 minutes per game, while tossing in 7.0 points and grabbing 2.5 rebounds last season.
• Feb. 26, 2024 -- South Carolina State moved into 2^nd place of the MEAC standings after posting an impressive,64-56, win over Maryland Eastern Shore Monday in the final home game of the regular season inside Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. Freshman guard Mitchell Taylor led the way with a team-high 12 points and five (5) rebounds, while forward/center Drayton Jones added 10 points and five (5) rebounds in the win. Caleb McCarty and Davion Everett.

SCSU by the Numbers
• 71.0: SCSU is scoring by averaging 71.0 points per game (No. 6 in the MEAC).
• 8.5: The Bulldogs have been led by freshman 6-3 guard Mitchell Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.) who is averaging 8.5 points with 3.0 rebounds and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free throw line.
• 75.9: On average SCSU is giving up just under 80 points per contest to opponents.
• .327: The Bulldogs rank No. 5 in the MEAC in 3-point field goal percentage.
• .414: The Bulldogs rank No. 6 in the MEAC in field goal percentage.
• 37.7: The Bulldogs rank No. 1 in the MEAC in rebounding, offensive rebounds (14.7) and rebounding margin (4.0).

THE SERIES
• Saturday's contest will mark the 88th meeting between the schools ... The Bears lead the series 45-42.
• Morgan's last win against South Carolina State was on February 3, 2024 -- Will Thomas scored a game-high 28 points and Morgan State erased a 11 point deficit to secure a 72-70 victory over South Carolina State Saturday night at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. Junior guard Ahahrie Simpkins finished with 13 points points (6-10 FG) and led the Bears with nine rebounds -- he was the only other Bear to score double figures. 
• SCSU's last win against Morgan was on February 13, 2023 --  Justin Wilson had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks and South Carolina State scored 48 points in the paint in a 74-62 upset win over Morgan State on Monday night at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. Senior guard Isaiah Burke scored a game-high 21 points (7-14 FG) and hit 2-for-6 from beyond the arc. Kamron Hobbs finished 9 points, five assists and two steals. 
• Morgan has won seven of the last eight meetings against the Bulldogs since the 2019-20 season.

LOOKING AHEAD
South Carolina State will take on Coppin State to complete the series on Monday, March 4^. Tipoff time is 7:30 p.m. at Physical Education Complex Arena.

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