Dec. 11, 2005

Box Score

WASHINGTON D.C. - UMES lost their second game in a row as they dropped their conference opener to Howard, 79-68 at Burr Gymnasium Saturday night. The Hawks were paced by three players in double figures. Tim Parham (Chicago, Ill.) had a double-double of 18 points and a game high 12 rebounds, while Terrell Harris (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished with 13 points off the bench. Jesse Brooks (Severn, Md.) fell one assist shy of a double-double, chipping in with 11 points and nine assists as the Hawks fell to 2-7 and 0-1 in league play.

Howard (1-4, 0-1 MEAC) got 19 points from Darryl Hudson and 12 from Darek Mitchell. Louis Ford added a game high 10 assists.

The Bison shot 48% from the field compared to just 37% from UMES. The Hawks trailed 41-32 at the half, but Howard took a double-digit lead at 16:26 in the second period on a Ford lay-up.

The Bison lead ballooned to 19 on three separate occasions. The tide began to turn when Harris was fouled beyond the arc with just under five minutes left in the game. The senior walk-on hit all three of his free-throws to cap a 13-3 run by the maroon and gray and later drained a three at 2:48 to cut the Howard lead to nine, but it was not enough as Howard held on for the 11 point victory.

UMES faces Top 25 powerhouse George Washington in their next contest. The Hawks battle the Colonials on Saturday, Dec. 17 in a road contest beginning at 2 p.m.

Below is the official release from the Howard Sports Information Office:

Darryl Hudson scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half and Darek Mitchell scored all 12 of his points in the first half as Howard University defeated the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 79-68 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at Burr Gymnasium. The win was the first of the season for the Bison (1-4 overall, 1-0 in the MEAC) and snapped a 21-game losing streak dating back to last season. Howard's last win came against Morgan State in January 8, 2005.

"I'm happy for the guys who were probably tired of hearing when they're going to win again," said Howard head coach Gil Jackson, who won his first game as a head coach after serving as an assistant at Penn the past 16 years. "It was our first home game and the crowd really gave us some added energy. We are just glad to get the win."

Howard played the visitors close early until Mitchell scored 8 of his team's points during a 13-4 run that gave the Bison a 41-32 lead at the half.

The Bison, who have had leads in two of their games this season, only to lose it after having an opponent reel off a big second half run, showed more poise and never allowed the Hawks (2-7 overall, 0-1 in the MEAC) to get closer than nine.

Hudson did most of the damage as he got inside the lane and drew fouls on UMES.

"We came out and played with more intensity on defense," said Hudson, who has scored in double figures in four of the five games. "Our point guards got us into the offensively and we were able to get some good looks." Howard shot 59 percent (13 of 22) in the second half while holding the Hawks to 31 percent (11 of 35).

Senior point guard Louis Ford paced the attack by tying his career best of 10 assists while Will Gant scored 11.

The Hawks were led by Tim Parham (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Terrell Harris, who tallied 13 off the bench.