ORANGEBURG, SC (November 11, 2023) — South Carolina State fell short at the end in an 20-17 loss to visiting Morgan State on a rainy and cold Saturday (Nov. 11th) inside Oliver. C. Dawson Stadium on Willie Jeffries Field during.
South Carolina State falls to 4-6 on the season and 2-2 in the MEAC, while Morgan State improves to 4-5 overall, 3-1 in the league.
The Bulldogs on Coach Pough’s final home game of his career at SC State jumped out to an 14-6 lead on a 17-yard touchdown connection from Corey Fields, Jr. to Keshawn Toney go ahead 7-6. The Bears got on the board first early in the second quarter on a 13-yard run by quarterback Tahj Smith at the 13:52 mark the PAT was no good.
A costly bad snapped with 3:07 remaining in the half which led in a recovery in the endzone by defensive back Malcolm Magee put SCSU ahead 14-6 during halftime.
During the second-half Morgan started a run with 14 answered points on a 53-yard touchdown scamper by J.J Davis and a 73-yard kickoff return from Jordan Toles to give Morgan State an 20-17 win over the Bulldogs on “Senior Day/Greek Day/Military Appreciation Day & Buddy Pough Day”.
SC State managed to only score off a 28-yard field goal by Gavin Zimmerman at the 5:00 mark in the fourth quarter.
Redshirt freshman running back Josh Shaw finished with 16 carries for 70-yards, while Keshawn Toney caught 2 passes for 33-yards. The defense was spearheaded by defensive back Jaylen Evans with a team-high 9 tackles (8) solo, while defensive lineman Naejuan Barber added 7 and 1 tackles for loss.
NEXT UP: South Carolina State will close out the regular season on the road at Norfolk State Saturday (Nov. 18th) in Norfolk, Va. Kickoff is 2 p.m. and will be televised on 2 p.m.
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