Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: Tournament Coverage

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Jermaine Bolden (left) and Rogers Barnes (right) realize their season is nearly over.

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Kately squares up with Oklahoma Forward Taylor Griffin.

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Marquise Kately drives through the lane against Oklahoma defenders.

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Coach Todd Bozeman (left) looks down his bench to assess his team.

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Holmes takes an open jump shot.

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Guard Reggie Holmes tries to dribble past Big 12 Freshmen of the Year Willie Warren.

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Kately gets ready to make his move towards the basket.

Media Credit: Phillip Datcher Bolden calls out signals to his team.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Bears Head Coach Todd Bozeman understood his team's challenge. After all, they went into a hostile environment and defeated fellow NCAA tourney participant - The Maryland Terrapins.

But the team ended a historic season with a less than stellar performance, en route to a 28-point loss at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners.

All night, the Morgan State Bears (23-12, 11-3 MEAC) never gained consistency against the Sooners (28-5, 13-3 Big 12). For Bear fans, and more importantly the team, it was painfully obvious that this was not their night - a plethora of missed shots, key players in foul trouble, and extremely physical play.

The story of the game was the play of Blake and Taylor Griffin. The brotherly duo combined for 46 of their team's 82 points, and connected on an astounding 18 of 20 from the field. Many of the Sooners attempts were dunks, layups, or close-range jump shots, which attributed to their effective shooting.

"Getting a lot of movement on offense, getting a lot of movement all the same on defense. For the most part, I though we did a pretty good job," replied Oklahoma Senior Forward Taylor Griffin.

While the Sooners were blistering hot from the floor, shooting over 60% for the game, it was the iron unkind for the Bears. On the offensive end, they were aggressive - they received wide open looks, and were able to cut through Oklahoma's 2-3 Defense, but missed 55 total shots on the night.

On the defensive end, Oklahoma was extremely effective down low. Kevin Thompson was plagued with early foul trouble, which caused Forward Marquise Kately to shoulder most of the load. For Kately, it was certainly not an easy task.

"They were real physical," explained the tired Bears Forward. "You know they were bigger than us, but you know we didn't back down, you know, but they did what they were supposed to do."

Kately finished with eleven points and nine rebounds, for the game, in 35 minutes. However, Thompson finished with only two points and four rebounds, in just 17 minutes of play - his lowest total since the MEAC Semifinals game against Coppin State, where he fouled out, scoring just 3 points in only 11 minutes.

The Bears were true to form in fighting to the last second. But nothing seemed to really work against Oklahoma.

"He (Blake Griffin) made some big time shots - those shots falling away, banking them off the glass. Those are pro shots. He's off the charts. Nothing you can do other than I tried to find some kryptonite, but they didn't have it," explained an even keeled Bozeman after the game.

However, Morgan did find some kryptonite - Ameer Ali.

Blake roamed around the court, scoring 18 first half points. But, Morgan asserted themselves against Griffin. They were more aggressive, not letting him get into position underneath. Ameer Ali played Griffin, primarily man to man, bodying him, and making him work for every single point. Midway through the second half, Griffin only had six points

But then, before a crowd of 17,398 at the Sprint Center, in Kansas City, Blake and Ameer got their arms tangled up, immediately following a Morgan rebound. The result led to Blake flipping entirely over the back of Ali. It was an inadvertent play, but the officials thought otherwise and immediately disqualified the Morgan player.

"I know (Coach Bozeman) and I know he doesn't teach his kids that," explained aggravated Oklahoma Head Coach Jeff Capel. "Again, if I go back and see the play, when I go back and watch the play - I'm pretty sure Blake said they just got tangled up. For me, it's scary and it pisses me off, to be honest with you."

CBS Sports NCAA Tournament Host, Greg Gumbel, called the play "bush-league" and subsequently scrutinized Ali's entanglement with Griffin as a "judo flip." The play certainly looked worse than it was. However, Coach Bozeman defended his team and its reputation.

"The guys don't play like that. We haven't had an incident like that all year," defended Coach Bozeman. "We don't play like that, nor would I want them to play like that."

Both benches cleared for a brief moment, before returning to the sidelines. Intentional or not, the pro-Oklahoma crowd disliked Ali's actions. He was severely heckled and booed while leaving the court. But for Blake, he knew there was nothing behind it.

"I feel alright, you know, nothing out of the ordinary. And you know, Coach Capel just told us to keep our cool and not do anything in retaliation," said the Oklahoma Forward.

Early on in the first half, Morgan would take their first and only lead of the night; a Reggie Holmes three-pointer, that pulled them ahead 3-2. Oklahoma took a 12-5 lead, behind a 10-2 run, with Blake Griffin scoring all ten points.

Morgan would go on a 6-0 run, of their own, behind strong play by Kately and Ameer Ali. The Bears pulled to 12-11 after an Ali steal and layup at the other end, Ali's only points of the game. The strategy was to play Big 12 Player of the Year, Blake Griffin, man to man early.

Morgan played very competitively, staying as close as six points down, through the 5:32 mark, in the first half. It was not until Morgan Guard Rogers Barnes, fouled Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Willie Warren on a three-point attempt, that Oklahoma started to create some distance, between them and the Bears. Warren made all three attempts giving the Sooners a 26-17 lead.

In the last five minutes of the first half, the Griffin Brothers poured it on. The duo from Oklahoma City's Oklahoma Christian Academy, would score ten of the team's 14 points en route to a 40-21 lead. The Sooners would stretch the lead to 50-25 in the second half after a Juan Patillo fast break dunk.

But, Morgan fought back, going on a spirited 19-8 run, and playing more aggressively on defense. The run was capped off by a spectacular Reggie Holmes three-pointer, his fourth and final triple of the game. The following play, Marquise Kately took the ball right at Blake Griffin for a layup, closing the Sooner lead to 58-44.

But down the stretch the Sooners were too much for the Bears. They finished the final six minutes with a 24-10 run, cruising to an 82-54 win. Holmes and Kately were the only two in double figures scoring, with 14 and 11 points respectively. Oklahoma's Blake Griffin finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds. The game took place on Thursday, March 19th and was the last game of the day - a 9:55 P.M. EST tipoff. Oklahoma's win advanced them to a second round matchup with the Michigan Wolverines.

The NCAA tournament game was the final chapter in the careers of three great seniors: Jermaine Bolden, Rogers Barnes, and Marquise Kately. Those three leaders had a tremendous impact on the success of the Morgan State Bears program. The big year, in which the bears won 23 games this year and 22 the previous year, was an understatement. And they will be missed.

"They won back to back 20 win seasons, back to back regular season championships," said Coach Bozeman. "If you note the history of Morgan State basketball, you have to go back to the '70s before you could find anything that even comes close to it."

On the flipside, Bozeman is in the last year of his contract with the team. Most experts believe that Bozeman has coached his last game as the Morgan State Bears Head Coach. His overall numbers certainly speak for themselves. He has a 121-76 record overall, in his seventh year of combined coaching - four with the California Golden Bears (1992-1996), and three with the Morgan State Bears (2006-2009).

His record at MSU is 58-40, which includes an National Invitational Tournament (NIT) berth in 2008. Bozeman was nominated as a Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Finalist - an award given to the nation's top mid-major coach. He took over a reeling program that in recent years had been used to losing, with a 4-26 record in the 2005-2006 season. But for whatever the analysts say, Bozeman and the team feel differently.

"That time will come. We'll deal with (contract negotiations) when the time comes," stated Coach Bozeman. "I'm not going to - it doesn't do me any good - I'm not going to negotiate in the media. Obviously, I want to be back."

But out of losing the first NCAA tournament game, the Bears had ever been a part of; players were certainly hopeful of things to come and thanked its student body and fans for the love and support received. Clearly, everyone knows this will be Reggie Holmes' team next year and he knows what lies ahead.

"It was a nice feeling. Sorry we couldn't win. Thanks (to the fans) for being there the whole season and we'll be here next year - GUARANTEED!"


Spokesman Insider - Morgan NCAA Tourney Highlights & Postgame from Ryan H. Marshall on Vimeo.

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