One fan?s sign said it perfectly on Monday night at Hill Field House during Morgan State?s game against Delaware State: “Take a Bow … You?ve just been dunked on.”
Morgan State (13-8, 8-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) continued to grab the attention of teams around the league ? and its student body ? with a 64-59 victory over the three-time defending MEAC regular season champion Hornets.
And no play in the game captivated as much attention, or a reaction, as senior point guard Jerrell Green?s alley-oop to junior forward Marquise Kately. Kately caught the pass midair and slammed the ball through the rim over a defender to cap a fast break early in the second half.
“We are getting shots, we just have to make them,” Kately said. “I?m just trying to help the team.”
Morgan State?s athleticism was on full display in front of a crowd of 3,409 fans at The Cave, where the Bears are 7-0 this season and 17-1 during the past two years.
The Bears, who are in first place in the conference, also are playing their best basketball in three decades, winning six straight games for the first time since 1978. Morgan State is led by senior guard Jamar Smith (18.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and sophomore guard Reggie Holmes (13.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg). But senior forward Boubacar Coly has been just as important. Coly (9.6 ppg, 10.7 rpg) has won the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week award in each of the past six weeks, and is ranked 10th in Division I in rebounding.
“We?ve been getting better and better, it?s growth,” Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said. “When we can grind out games it says a lot about your team.”
The Bears have a chance to extend their home unbeaten streak this weekend when they host provisional MEAC member Winston-Salem State (8-12) on Saturday afternoon at 4. The Rams are led by forwards Jamal Durham (12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Darrell Wonge (10.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg).
But whether the game is played at home or on the road, Bozeman emphasizes his team?s focus remains the same.
“Every conference win is cherished, every single one,” Bozeman said. “You have to remember where our program has come from, so who are we to treat one bigger than the other? We have to treat them all the same, they are all important.”
