Jan. 26, 2005
Box Score
PRINCESS ANNE, MD - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Fighting Hawks battled Coppin State tough but lost their match-up versus the Eagles, 78-51, in front of 2,751 at the Hytche Center.
UMES (1-16, 0-8 MEAC) held tight with Coppin State (7-10, 7-1 MEAC) for the duration of the first half, holding the Eagles to only four free-throw attempts and 14% shooting from beyond the arc.
Coppin took an early lead on the Hawks, outscoring UMES 5-1 at 17:24. The two teams traded baskets for the next couple of possessions, with the Fighting Hawks tying the score on two separate occasions within a span of three minutes.
The tide began to turn in UMES' favor at 12:16, when freshman Ryan Leak (Jamaica, NY/Bayside) hit a three-point basket, giving the Hawks their first lead of the night. Leak hit another trey at 10:44, giving UMES their largest lead of the night over the conference leaders.
The Fighting Hawks held their lead over Coppin for almost six minutes, playing good defense that forced the Eagles into committing three fouls. Coppin was able to regain the lead at 6:24 off of a fast break lay-up by Proctor, but a pair of free-throws by junior Tim Parham (Chicago, Ill/Ellsworth CC) tied the score for the fourth time that half.
Proctor hit another jumper at 4:49 to give the Eagles the two-point advantage. Coppin held on to the lead for the rest of the period and took a four point lead into the locker room, 31-27. Leak was the leading scorer at the half for UMES, scoring 10 points in 13 minutes. Proctor had 12 to pace the Eagles.
Coppin jumped out on a 10-2 run to start the second half, taking a 12 point lead at 16:29. A three-point play by Leak cut the lead down to nine, but the Eagles made another run, outscoring the Hawks 14-3 over the next seven minutes.
A combination of turnovers and missed jumpers by UMES allowed the Coppin lead to spiral to 23 points with two minutes remaining. The Fighting Hawks ended the game by missing five of their last field goals, helping the Eagles to a 78-55 win.
Leak had a team high 17 points to lead UMES while Parham had his sixth double-double in eight games, adding 11 points and 19 rebounds. Proctor paced four players in double figures for Coppin, scoring 24 points to go along with nine rebounds. Nicholas King had 13, while Otis West and Raheem Scott had 11 and 10, respectively.
The Hawks will play on the road for their next contest, traveling to Greensboro, North Carolina to face North Carolina A&T on Saturday, January 29. Tip off against the Aggies is slated for 4:00pm.
