Reggie Holmes led five Bears in double-figure scoring as Morgan State held off a last minute charge by La Salle to collect a 93-87 win at Hill Field House. The win improved Morgan State’s record to 5-4 overall (1-0 MEAC).

Morgan State’s 93 points is the most scored by the Bears this season and the most points recorded at Hill Field House since a 93-point outing against Md-Eastern Shore on January 27, 2007.

The Bears used a 14-5 run over a 3 minute stretch to build what appeared to be a commanding 20-point lead at 87-67 with 1:33 left in the game. But La Salle was not ready to go off silently into the winter night.

The Explorers (3-4) would go on to outscore the Bears 20-6 in a last minute scoring barrage led by three-point specialist Darnell Harris.

Harris, a Baltimore product, scored 10 of his team-high 25 points in the final minute and hit his 7th three-pointer of the night with 13 seconds left as Morgan State held a 92-85 advantage as the Explorers ran out of time in the end.

Junior forward Marquise Kately held down the starting point guard position for the second game in a row as a result of injuries to the Bears backcourt. Kately had another solid performance as he finished with 14 points, five boards and three assists in 36 minutes.

Sophomore guard Reggie Holmes led the Bears with a career-high 26 points (14-16 FT) with nine boards, while Jamar Smith continued to pour in points with 25 points (12-20 FG) including three crowd-pleasing dunks. Boubacar Coly added 15 points with eight rebounds and three blocked shots and Karanvir Aujla contributed with 13 points (4-6 FG).

Morgan State had its best shooting night of the season as they shot 57.1 percent from the field (32-56 FG) and shot 5-for-10 (50%) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Explorers had a strong shooting night as well by shooting 35-of-69 (50.7%) from the floor but struggled from the free throw line by connecting on just 8-of-16 (50%).

La Salle held its largest lead of the game when Harris nailed a 3-pointer to put the Explorers up 29-21 with 7:45 left. However, the Bears clamped down on defense and held the Explorers to a single field goal during the final minutes of the half.

The Bears capped a 17-3 run when Kately penetrated and kicked the ball out to a wide-open Holmes who nailed a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 40-32 halftime lead.