Marquise Kately?s teammates at Morgan State call the junior by his first name, but his coach, Todd Bozeman, has a more appropriate title for him: the X-factor.
“I consider him the ?X-factor? because he?s so multi-dimensional,” he said. “He handles the ball sometimes, he can post up, he can play in the paint, he can rebound, so he?s the guy that can do a lot of different things.”
Kately displayed all those in a 68-64 win over Coppin State at Hill Field House on Thursday night in the team?s final game of the regular season. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but spent just as much time in the paint as he did running the offense beyond the arc when guards Jerrell Green and Jermaine Bolden battled foul trouble late in the game.
Kately has scored in double figures in 21 of 29 games, and averages 12.6 points per game, 16th-best in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. His role as a complementary player has evolved into one of a major contributor with leading-scorer Jamar Smith (17.6 ppg) sidelined the past two games with an injured left foot.
Kately, however, has plenty of energy to unleash on the court for the Bears (20-9, 14-2), who claimed their first MEAC regular season title in school history and posted their first 20 win season in 32 years. The native of San Francisco transferred from Cal last year, but had to sit out the season due to NCAA rules.
“I?d been sitting out,” Kately said, “so I am kind of anxious.”
But that?s not to say the forward ? and the Bears ? are without flaws.
Against Coppin State, Kately was just 1-of-5 from the free throw line as the team combined to make just 12-of-23 attempts. The Bears, however, are learning to win close games.
Morgan State blew a 21-point lead to Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla., and fell, 90-89, in overtime to snap an eight-game winning streak on Feb. 16. But Morgan State has responded by winning five-straight by an average of just five points per game, showing it learned its lesson in the Sunshine State.
“It gives us a lot more confidence, especially with the leading scorer gone,” Kately said of the close wins. “As long as we are talking on defense and play hard we are good.”
They will need that swagger in next week?s MEAC Tournament at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. The Bears are the tournament?s top-seed and will play the winner of eighth-seeded South Carolina State (12-19, 7-9) and ninth-seeded Bethune-Cookman (11-20, 5-11) on Wednesday night at 7 in the quarterfinals.
“We?re going to play with confidence all the time,” Kately said. “We are ready.”
