Dover, Del. (Feb. 24, 2014) --- The Delaware State men's basketball team continued its recent hot streak with a 59-56 MEAC win over Morgan State in Memorial Hall this evening.

Morgan State had the final shot of the game, but Blake Bozeman's long three-point attempt missed wide as time expired.

The Hornets won for the fifth time in the last six games to improve to 9-18 overall and 5-9 in the MEAC. Morgan State fell to 11-14 and 9-4.

Delaware State led 28-21 at the half, and opened up a 34-23 lead on a jumper by Tyshawn Bell with 18:09 left to play.

Morgan State battled back to tie the game at 51-51 on a basket by Justin Black with 4:06 remaining.

After a Delaware State turnover, Black nailed a three-pointer to give the Bears a 54-51 lead with 2:56 left.

The Hornets regained the lead, 55-54, on two free throws by DeAndre Haywood with 1:40 on the second half clock.

Delaware State stretched its lead to 57-54 on a dunk by Kendall Gray off a feed from Charles Burley at the 1:08 mark.

Gray recorded his fourth straight double-double, and 10th of the season, with 16 points and 13 rebounds. He also had a team high six blocks to tie the school single-season record of 75 he set last season.

Gray has combined for 60 points (15.0 pg) and 47 rebounds (11.8 pg) in the last four contests. In addition, he has hit 29-of-40 shots from the floor in the last five games (72.5%).

Casey Walker came off the bench to add 16 points for the Hornets. His performance was highlighted by three-of-five shooting from three-point territory. Walker has nine three-pointers in the last two games and a team-high 52 for the season.

Burley contributed a career-high 11 points and four assists to the win.

Black led all players with 21 points for the Bears.

The Hornets also avenged a 77-64 road loss to Morgan State on Feb. 1.

"The guys really executed the defensive game plan tonight," said Delaware State interim head coach Keith Walker, who improved to 5-3 since being appointed to the position on Jan. 30. "We made some defensive adjustments since our first game with Morgan State. Those adjustments, combined with our hustle on both ends of the floor made the difference in the game. I'm really proud of the overall effort."     

Delaware State trailed 6-5 before taking control of the game in the first half. Burley capped off a 9-0 run with a follow-up basket to give the Hornets a 14-6 lead. DSU held its biggest first half lead, 26-17, on a short jumper by Burley with 3:08 to before the break.

The Hornets were 20-for-55 from the field (36.4%), including three-of-13 from three-point territory (23.1%). DSU struggled at the free throw line, hitting on 16 of 26 shots (61.5%).  

Morgan State was 20-for -51 overall from the field and four-of-20 from beyond the arc (20%). The Bears were 12-for-19 from the charity stripe.

The Bears won the rebound battle 42-33, although the Hornets committed eight fewer turnovers (11-to-19).

The Hornets return to action on Sat. (Mar. 1) against Howard in their 2013-14 home finale. Game time is 4:00 p.m. in Memorial Hall.