Back in early December, Morgan State's Troy Smith served a one-game benching for what coach Todd Bozeman characterized as a "practice transgression."
Smith took the benching to heart, served his time, and his work ethic in practice and games has been exemplary ever since. It was perhaps never more evident than in the first half of a 91-54 flogging of UMES at Hill Field House on Monday night.
Smith scored 15 points in 17 minutes, energizing the Bears' relentless fast-break offense for the team's sixth straight win, keeping Morgan (14-7, 6-0) in first place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
"Troy's energy really helped us get going early," Bozeman said after the Bears' 11th straight MEAC victory over two seasons. "His energy lately has been a key for us. He had that transgression at practice early in the season and didn't play at Coppin. But he's been bringing it ever since then. He took the mature approach, and I give him credit for that."
Smith, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who played at Douglass High, helped trigger a 14-0 run early with the game's first 3-pointer and a layup. He scored six straight points in a 9-0 run at the end of the half that pushed Morgan's lead to 22.
Combined with 14 points from Reggie Holmes (St. Frances) in the first half and a frigid, 8-for-32 shooting performance by UMES (5-14, 3-3), the Bears were never threatened.
Smith, who didn't score in a five-minute cameo in the second half, said he had a miscommunication with the coaches that led to his one-game sabbatical, but that he cleaned things up promptly.
"I wasn't approaching practice the right way," he said. "I wasn't using it as a time to get better. [Bozeman and I] got into it. He told me I wouldn't play against Coppin to see how I'd react. I took my punishment and every day has been a good day since."
Holmes, the sixth-leading scorer in the nation at 22.8 points per game coming in, finished with 25 points in 27 minutes, a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. He kept an announced crowd of 3,109 entertained in the second half by launching three straight 30-foot shots -- hitting two of them -- as the lead swelled.
The Bears led by 30 with 16 minutes left in the game and 40 with 1:50 to play after John Long's second dunk of the evening.
Morgan's 6-9 center Kevin Thompson (Walbrook) picked up two quick fouls and played just 14 minutes in the rout, scoring seven points with five rebounds.
Bozeman found a positive note in playing his reserves in such a lopsided game. He went deep into his bench with 11 minutes left.
"It's good for us to play anytime without our main guys," Bozeman said. "Teams want to take away Kevin and Reggie. The fact we got some other guys playing and got them some minutes was good."
Joe Davis scored 12 points and DeWayne Jackson added 10 for the Bears. Sean Thomas had five steals and Rodney Stokes (Old Mill) blocked four shots.
"I don't believe in garbage time," Bozeman said. "I tell [the players] that's your opportunity to run what we're supposed to run."
UMES (5-14)
Hines 0-1 0-0 0, Pitt 6-18 2-4 14, White 3-7 1-2 8, Burns 1-9 0-0 2, Haley 2-9 6-7 11, Obame Obame 0-0 1-2 1, Berry 2-7 1-2 5, Bright 1-5 0-0 2, Dunston 2-3 1-2 6, Robertson 2-4 0-1 5, Tucker 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-65 12-20 54.
MORGAN ST. (14-7)
Thompson 3-6 1-3 7, Ali 2-2 0-0 4, D.Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Holmes 8-18 7-9 25, T.Smith 6-14 2-2 15, Braswell 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 1-4 0-0 3, Davis 5-10 0-0 12, Jackson 3-6 2-2 10, Stokes 2-3 0-1 4, Long 3-3 1-4 7, Foote 0-1 2-4 2. Totals 34-70 15-25 91.
Halftime_Morgan St. 45-22. 3-Point Goals_Md.-Eastern Shore 4-16 (Dunston 1-2, White 1-2, Robertson 1-3, Haley 1-4, Pitt 0-1, Bright 0-2, Burns 0-2), Morgan St. 8-22 (Jackson 2-3, Davis 2-5, Holmes 2-6, Thomas 1-3, T.Smith 1-4, Johnson 0-1). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Md.-Eastern Shore 45 (Pitt 12), Morgan St. 47 (Holmes 8). Assists_Md.-Eastern Shore 12 (Burns 5), Morgan St. 16 (Thomas 5). Total Fouls_Md.-Eastern Shore 19, Morgan St. 20. A_3,109.