Published: February 10, 2008 12:15 am         

MSU overcomes first-half deficit, beats Morris 88-81

SUMTER, S.C. — It wasn’t as easy as the first time, but NAIA No. 1 Mountain State escaped Morris College with an 88-81 victory Saturday.

James Spencer returned to the lineup and scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Cougars and Adron Marshall added 21.

Spencer had missed one game with a back injury.

MSU coach Bob Bolen, whose team beat Morris 101-69 on Jan. 19 in Beckley, said he was happy to get out of Garrick-Boykin HDC with a victory.

“Sometimes we play in difficult venues,” the coach said. “We are just glad to get out of there with a win.”

Morris led 44-43 at the break, but Mountain State was able to pull out the win by changing things up late in the game.

“We went to four guards and a post and we were able to spread the floor, and that opened up some lanes and we got some easy baskets,” Bolen said.

In addition to their big scoring games, Spencer and Marshall each pulled down eight rebounds, as did Jarvis Jackson, who had 14 points in the win. Rod Green added eight points and six rebounds and Tyrice Watkins had seven points and seven rebounds.

Christopher Owens led Morris with 27 points. Justin Beaufort and Randall James added 11 points each.

MSU (24-0) has another difficult road test at Lindsey Wilson Tuesday night. Lindsey Wilson was drilled by No. 2 Georgetown, Ky., 95-48 at Saturday.



MSU (24-0)

Tyrice Watkins 3-6 1-2 7, Jason McGriff 1-6 0-0 2, James Spencer 10-21 6-8 28, Jarvis Jackson 7-13 0-1 14, Adron Marshall 8-15 3-6 21. Ralph Legg 0-0 0-0 0, Denzel Lyles 2-5 0-0 5, Vedrin Zivic 0-0 0-0 0, Papa Gassama 0-0 1-2 1, Rod Green 3-5 2-5 8, Ermin Tarcin 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 35-75 13-24 88.

MORRIS COLLEGE (3-21)

Jonquin McKinney 1-2 0-0 2, Dominic Kahee 2-4 2-4 6, Randell James 3-9 4-5 11, Christopher Owens 8-17 8-9 27, Nathaniel Thomas 2-9 0-0 4, Justin Beaufort 4-7 3-6 11, Arcadeus Dubard 0-0 0-0 0, Ricky Dummond 3-12 1-2 7, Herbert Deas 0-0 0-0 0, Kenneth Nesmith 1-3 2-4 4, Willie Scott III 1-2 0-2 2, Markevias Cathcart 0-0 1-2 1, O’Brien Colbert 1-3 0-0 2, Stanford Adams 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 28-70 21-34 81.

Halftime—Morris 44-43. 3-Point Goals—MSU 5-13 (McGriff 0-1, Spencer 2-3, Jackson 0-1, Marshall 2-4, Lyles 1-3, Tarcin 0-1), Morris 4-12 (James 1-2, Owens 3-9, Dummond 0-1). Fouled Out—Watkins. Rebounds—MSU 44 (Spencer, Jackson, Marshall 8), Morris 40 (Dummond 7). Assists—MSU 12 (Jackson 4), Morris 14 (McKinney 6). Total Fouls—MSU 23, Morris 20. Technicals—MSU Coach. A—na.