Morgan State’s head basketball coach Todd Bozeman became the programs all-time winningest coach with a 77-75 win over South Carolina State Monday night.
The 11-year coach picked up victory number 167 surpassing former Bears coach Nathaniel Frazier (1972-77, 1986-89) who left the program with a record of 166-121 in 10 seasons.
“It’s special, it’s special,” Bozeman told http://MorganStateBears.com about setting the school record. “I’m excited for Morgan State and for just the years to come. It’s special, it’s very special.”
Morgan State (8-11, 5-1) edged S.C. State to remain in first place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic conference. Bozeman had to rely on his guards to grind out the rest of the game because his big post players were in foul trouble.
Tiwian Kendley poured in another big game for the Bears. The junior dropped 29 points and was 7-of-17 from the field, 2-of-3 from 3-point territory and went 13-of-14 at the charity stripe. His 29-point effort marked his seventh 20-point effort in 12 games.
Morgan State’s bench played a huge role in Monday night’s contest, scoring almost 50 percent of the team’s points as the reserves tallied 31 points on the night. The most important points off the bench came from Isiah Graves
The Bears trailed throughout most of the game and found themselves down 61-49 following a 3-pointer by SCSU’s Edward Stephens with 9:15 to go. But that’s when the Bears started their comeback. Graves nailed a three-pointer that sparked a 17-4 run over a four-minute stretch. The 5-9 guard scored 8 points during the span, including his second 3-pointer with 4:08 left to go up 66-65.
SCSU (5-13, 2-3 MEAC) James “JJ” Richardson then sank a pair of free throws at the other end to briefly put the Bulldogs back on top before the Bears used a 6-1 spurt fueled by Kendley and Graves to retake the advantage for good.
Kyle Thomas and Tyler Streeter had 10 apiece for the Bears who finished the game shooting 48.3 percent in the second half, including 8-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc.
Richardson paced the Bulldogs with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Greg Mortimer added 15.
SCSU was out-rebounded by a 35-26 margin by the Bears, and had a poor night at the free throw line where they shot 62 percent (18-29).
Morgan State hopes to stay in the win column this Saturday, January 28 as the Bears take on cross-town rival Coppin State (5-16, 4-2 MEAC). Tip-off is at 4 pm. at the PEC Arena.
