Men's Basketball 12/13/2009 4:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

Men?s Basketball Recap: December 12

Holmes' 31 Powers Bears Past Manhattan, 83-74

BALTIMORE, Md. - Reggie Holmes scored a game-high 31 points and helped Morgan State open a 10-point lead midway through the second half, and the Bears held off a late rally by Manhattan to win 83-74 Saturday at Hill Field House.

The Bears improved to 6-4 for the season after notching its first win against the Jaspers, who beat MSU 61-60 last season on a last second basket in the first meeting between the teams.

Holmes, who entered the ballgame ranked No. 4 in the nation in scoring (24.7 ppg), seemed to find his stroke early in the ballgame and as a result Manhattan suffered.

Holmes lit the Jaspers up for 18 points in the second half, scoring six points during a 13-4 run that gave MSU a 46-39 lead. The Baltimore product finished the ballgame by shooting 9-for16 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point territory - and Manhattan never seemed to have an answer for him.

Read the complete story, click MorganStateBears.com.

7th-Ranked West Virginia Defeats Coppin State 69-43

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- Kevin Jones scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds leading 7th-ranked West Virginia to a 69-43 victory over Coppin State on Saturday at the West Virginia Coliseum.

The Mountaineers, who improved to 7-0 on the season, used a big run late in the first half to pull away from the Eagles.

A pair of free-throws by Quinston Reggins gave Coppin State a 13-11 lead with 10:33 to play in the first half.

West Virginia responded with a 22-6 run to close the half to take a 33-19 lead into the half. Jones sparked the run by scoring seven points.

Read more, click CoppinStateSports.com.

Hornets No Match for Arizona State

Tempe, Ariz. - Arizona State scored 23 unanswered first half points en route to a 76-34 men's basketball win over Delaware State at Wells Fargo Arena Saturday afternoon.

The Sun Devils snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 7-3 on the season, while the Hornets dropped their third in a row to fall to 4-4.

Victor Rudd came off the bench to lead three Arizona State players in double figures with 15 points. He was six-for-seven from the field, including three-of-four from three-point territory. Derek Glasser had 14 points and a game-high nine assists, while Trent Lockett added 10 points for the Sun Devils.

Frisco Sandidge was high scorer for Delaware State with 12 points, while Marcus Neal had 11 for the Hornets. Neal's performance included three three-point field goals. Jay Threatt led the Hornets with five assists.

Read the complete story, click DSUHornets.com.

UCF Pulls Away Late, Beats B-CU 63-50 In Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of Central Florida scored the game's final 10 points in the last 2:27 of the ball game to beat the Wildcats 63-50 Saturday night at the UCF Arena.

C. J. Reed hit a long three-point field goal with 2:27 to play, cutting the Knights' lead to 53-50. Reed would foul out shortly after that bucket and UCF (7-2) hit 8-8 free throws down the stretch to win by thirteen.

Alexander Starling scored six early points and freshman Javoris Bryant had four points to give the 'Cats (5-4) a 15-8 lead with 12:30 to play in the first half.

A 7:25 scoring drought after Bryant's second basket put the Wildcats in a hole to finish the first 20 minutes, trailing 30-23 at the half with the Knights going on a 22-8 run to close out the first half. UCF hit 11-20 field goals (55 %) in the first half with the Wildcats shooting 11-25 (44 %). Starling was 4-5 for 8 points to lead B-CU scorers at the break.