NCAA
Delaware State 59, Morgan State 56
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Feb 2022
Junior center Kendall Gray made the go-ahead basket with just over a minute remaining, helping host Delaware State hold on for a 59-56 victory over Morgan State on Monday at Memorial Hall in Dover, Del.
Gray had 16 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots for Delaware State (9-18, 5-9 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), which has won five of its last six games after losing seven in a row. Senior forward guard Casey Walker came off the bench to score 16 points.
Senior guard Justin Black scored 21 points for Morgan State (11-14, 9-4), which had won three in a row and five of six.
Delaware State trailed by two five minutes into the game, but the Hornets responded with a 10-0 run to take a 16-4 lead with 9:20 remaining in the opening period. Morgan State closed the gap, cutting Delaware State’s lead to 21-17 on a jumper by senior center Ian Chiles with 5:15 to go, but the Hornets took a 28-21 lead into the break after Gray scored with 22 seconds to go.
The Hornets extended their lead to 35-25 early in the second half, but the Bears battled back. Junior guard Blake Bozeman made a 3-pointer and Black followed with back-to-back baskets moments later, cutting Delaware State’s lead to 37-32 with 13:42 to go.
Morgan State cut the deficit to two on a jumper by Black with eight minutes to go, cut it to one when Black converted a 3-point play with 5:03 remaining and tied the game on another jumper by Black with 4:06 to play. Black delivered another big basket moments later, making a 3-pointer to put Morgan State up 54-51 with 3:35 remaining, but Gray helped the Hornets outscore the Bears 8-2 over the final three minutes.
