Miguel Burns put on a shooting clinic at Hill Fieldhouse last night, and South Carolina State scored 53 second-half points in a 94-87 win over Morgan State.
Averaging 9.5 points coming into the game, Burns used a deadly left-handed jump shot and quick inside moves, hitting 15 of 17 shots from the field, to lead all scorers with 31 points. The win improved the Bulldogs' MEAC record to 11-3 (14-10 overall), second-best to Coppin State's 10-1.
For Morgan (4-20 overall), the loss was the fourth in a row and 10th in 14 conference games. Any chance the Bears had of pulling an upset was stymied by Burns, who took advantage of his openings to make 15-foot jump shots.
"That's the best shooting game of my career," said the 6-foot-4 junior. "After a while, I started looking for the ball and my teammates kept getting it to me."
There were several times during the second half, however, when the ball didn't end up in the hands of either Burns or one of his teammates. "They [Morgan] are quick, forced some turnovers and made some tough shots," said Burns, who made 14 of his first 15 shots.
For most of the game Morgan had to deal with a double-digit deficit, but each time a scrambling defense forced turnovers that triggered a comeback. Still, after the early minutes, the Bears never got closer than five points (the last time at 82-77).
The Bulldogs threatened to blow the game open early, going on a 16-4 run for a 27-12 lead. Aric Samuel scored all seven of his first-half points in the first 10 minutes, and Burns repeatedly stifled Morgan's comeback attempts with his scoring from both the inside and outside. He scored 10 of his team's final 14 points before intermission.
An aggressive trapping defense enabled the Bears to reduce their deficit to 41-35 at halftime.
Burns picked up where he left off at the start of the second half, hitting six straight shots. His second miss didn't come until there was 12.10 remaining in the game, by which time he had 29 points.
Derrick Patterson, the Bulldogs' leading scorer with a 16.8 average, backed up Burns with 20 points. Jay Joyner had 14 while hitting all six of his shots -- including six late dunks that put an exclamation point on the win.
Paul Grant led Morgan with 18 points.