Morgan State played Maine a few days too late.
The Bears had no answer for 7-foot center Justin Rowe and forward Rickey White, who combined for 32 points and 12 rebounds just two days after returning from an NCAA-imposed suspension, helping Maine end a five-game losing streak with an 82-61 victory last night at Hill Field House.
Rowe and White missed the Black Bears' first five games because the NCAA ruled the program had violated a rule on book allowances. The seniors returned for Saturday's 73-61 loss at Clemson and played well.
They continued to do so last night. Morgan coach Butch Beard tried several players against Rowe, but the much smaller Bears had little success. Rowe finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. He also blocked eight shots.
White had 17 points and five rebounds.
"They are big for them," Beard said. "They played well. I think they'd take 32 points and 12 rebounds every night. I know I'd take it."
To make things worse for Morgan State (0-5), Kevin Reed added a game-high 19 points for Maine (2-5).
"We pointed to this game," said Maine coach John Giannini. "It was the second game where we had a full roster, but the first on our level. We've had a lot of pain this year, and we've been eager to try to get our program back on track."
Beard and the Bears are trying to do the same thing, but last night Morgan shot only 33 percent from the field and rarely converted on its 18 offensive rebounds.
Steve Snipes had a season-high 18 points and Randy Dukes added 12, but the Bears let much bigger Maine get away late in the first half. The Black Bears scored 26 of the first period's final 34 points for a 45-28 lead at the break.
"We're small. We're so small that we're like [some] high school teams," Beard said. "But the effort was there."
Staying winless left Morgan's players shaking their heads in frustration.
"We're just not getting it done," forward Douglas Sims said. "I felt like we played hard and we were undersized, but we're just not getting it done."
MAINE-Dodson 1-4 0-0 2, Petkus 1-3 0-0 3, Flavin 2-3 0-0 4, Reed 7-15 1-1 19, Hill 0-1 0-0 0, Dubois 0-1 0-0 0, Leavitt 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 4-5 1-2 11, Jackson 1-1 2-2 4, Brown 2-5 3-3 7, White 8-9 1-1 17, Rowe 5-10 5-8 15. Totals 31-58 13-17 82.
MORGAN STATE-Barrow 0-4 0-0 0, Timus 1-3 0-0 2, Sims 1-4 1-2 3, Snipes 4-7 6-6 15, Grandy 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 2-7 0-0 5, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Dukes 4-11 3-5 12, Patrick 2-7 3-4 7, Fischer 2-4 0-0 5, Andrews 4-9 0-1 8, Kilpatrick 0-1 0-0 0, Pellerin 1-3 0-0 2, Nesbitt 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 21-63 15-20 61.
Half-Maine, 45-28. 3-point goals-Maine 7-21 (Campbell 2-3, Reed 4-9, Petkus 1-3, Leavitt 0-1, Hill 0-1, Dodson 0-2, Brown 0-2); Morgan State 4-11 (Fischer 1-1, Dukes 1-1, Williams 1-2, Snipes 1-3, Barrow 0-1, Davis 0-1, Grandy 0-2). Fouled out-Hill, Patrick. Rebounds-Maine 36 (Brown 8); Morgan State 38 (Snipes, Andrews). Assists-Maine 4 (Dodson, Leavitt, Jackson, Brown 1); Morgan State 7 (Williams 3). Total fouls-Maine 19, Morgan State 19. A-n/a.