Morgan Dispatches FAMU

Ron Bailey, Publisher

For Bears improvement is the mantra.

February 15, 2009 - Morgan State's 75-57 home win over Florida A&M yesterday brought the Bear's winning streak to five, something the school's fans should be proud of. Junior swingman Reggie Holmes' 19 points - 17 in the second half - should also be a cause for celebration, as the Baltimore native has now scored over 1,000 points for his career.

The win is important to Morgan's coach, Todd Bozeman, but it's only part of his focus. "We have to continue to improve" said Bozeman, who holds that position whether his team has vanquished a FAMU team now 6-17 overall, 4-7 in Mid Eastern Athletic Conference play, or the likes of Maryland, DePaul, and Marshall - teams the Bears have defeated this season.

That advancement includes improved defensive rotations and maintaining an inside-outside offensive focus, points senior point guard Jermaine 'Itchy' Bolden (12 points, five assists) agreed with.

The Rattlers saw themselves down 19-5 in the first half, but were able to battle to within seven in the second stanza, in certain measure due to a 2-2-1 press that trapped at half court. Unfortunately, missed shots robbed the team of an ability to deploy it consistently.

FAMU's Brandon Bryant is guarded by Troy Smith

Head Rattler Eugene Harris noted that fact, before establishing "We were out physicaled" as a reason for the defeat. Adding to FAMU's woes was the absence of senior guard Joe Ballard, not with the team due to a death in his family per Harris.

Guards Brandon Bryant, a junior, and freshman Dale Hughes led the Rattlers with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Next up for the Orange and Green is Coppin State, Monday evening.

The Bears (15-10, 9-2) are poised for a busy and historic week: First MEAC foe Bethune Cookman visits Baltimore Monday, followed by a Wednesday tilt at Howard, always a Mid-Atlantic treat. Those games are back-ended Saturday by the school's cross-town match up at Towson.

Beyond the geographic rivalry existing between those schools, and the ramped up emotions experienced by Historically Black Colleges and University's when competing against similarly sized majority white schools, ESPN has designated this game one of it's Bracket Buster contests. The result is increased importance the tilt holds for NCAA tournament consideration.

"We are proud to compete in it" said Holmes of Morgan being the first HBCU invited to participate in the Bracket Buster series. "But we are taking it as just another game...We want to improve".

It would seem Bozeman has imparted his philosophy on the Bears.