Morgan State University lost to Howard University Monday night in the Hill Field House for the 109th matchup between the two schools with a score of 75-69.

In the first half, the Bears got out to an early lead and played physical. Howard started the game lifeless by committing countless errors. In the second half, the Bisons quickly closed the gap and sparked enough offense to defeat the Bears.

The game’s first points came from free throw shots made by guard Sherwyn-Devonish Prince. Early in the first half Stanley Davis and David Syfax dominated the paint by securing rebounds both defensively and offensively. With these second-chance opportunities, Morgan jumped out to the early lead.

Howard’s offense was very stagnant committing traveling fouls and frequently turning the ball over. Also, their leading scorer, RJ Cole, was held to just three points in the first half.

With 59 seconds left in the half, Morgan went on a 6-0 run with two successful 3-point shots by Kyson Rawls making the score 36-27. This gave Morgan their biggest lead of the game. By the half, Syfax led the team with 8-points, and he would only continue to dominate in the second half.

Morgan began to break down defensively by sending Cole to the free throw line numerous times. It was here that Cole gained many of his 19-points. Throughout this half, many other Bison players were sent to make free throw shots, and this ultimately was the downfall of Morgan.

Although they got out to an early lead, they couldn’t maintain it. The last time the two met, Morgan won with a go-ahead free throw in overtime. Stanley Davis and Kyson Rawls both led the team with the 13 points in that game.

This marks the fifth consecutive loss the Bears have had. After the game, Coach Bozeman was disappointed with how his team performed in the second half.

“The game plan was obviously to limit the three guys that got to do the scoring, but you are not going to beat many people if you’re turning the ball over 21 times,” said Bozeman.

The Bears will look to snap this losing streak against Delaware State University March 2, 2019.