Jan. 28, 2009
Box Score
NEWARK, N.J. - Four University of Maryland Eastern Shore players scored double figures and junior Neal Pitt (Fort Washington, Md.) collected his fifth double-double of the season as the Hawks defeated NJIT, 73-67, at the Prudential Center Wednesday.
Pitt had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Gary Lee (Flint Mich.) tallied a team-high 17 and grabbed nine boards, while freshman Jaime Boyer (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Josh Bright (Salisbury Md.) scored 12 and 11 apiece.
With the win, the UMES (6-12) picked up its first back-to-back road wins since Feb. 7-9, 2004 at Delaware State and Howard, respectively. The Hawks also swept their first season series since 2002-03 (against North Carolina A&T). The loss dropped NJIT to 1-20 on the year.
"I thought our kids really found a way to win," said UMES head coach Frankie Allen. "We did a good job in terms of finishing the game up. ... I'm really proud of them because we had that tough loss against Bethune-Cookman [58-55 Monday]. But in years past, those types of losses would have been compounded by going on the road and losing a game that was obviously a very winnable game.
"But they found away to win," he said. "That tells me this team is buying into our system, they're believing in what we're trying to tell them and I really feel good about our progress and how much this team is maturing."
The Highlanders built a 24-18 lead with 7:33 left in the first half, before a three from Bright and layup by Sammy Obetoh (Brooklyn, N.Y.) cut it to a one-point advantage for the hosts.
After a pair of Pitt free throws two minutes apart, UMES had the lead, 25-24, with 3:38 remaining.
The Hawks led at the half, 31-27, after shooting 9-of-26 from the floor, including 5-for-10 from 3-point range.
Boyer extended lead to seven on a three in transition a minute-and-a-half into the second, 36-29.
NJIT took its first lead of the second half, after an opening 20 minutes which featured nine lead changes, at the 11:07 mark on an Isaiah Wilkerson trey.
The Hawks wasted little time and regained control of the game never looking back with another Boyer three, one of his four on the night, midway through the half to make it 47-45.
UMES used a 10-4 run over a 2:33 span to a to put some distance between itself and NJIT at 57-49. Lee led the way with five points in the stretch.
The Hawks gained their biggest lead of the game, 63-53, with 3:46 to play when Lee hit a pair of free throws. He was UMES' top shooter from the stripe for the game (12-of-15) on a night when the team was 28-for-44.
NJIT's Brendon Lyn dropped a layup in to cut it to a 67-63 game with 62 seconds to play, but Lee and Marc Davis (Baltimore, Md.) drained six free throws for the win.
Wilkerson had a game-high 24 points for NJIT, leading three in double digits for the Highlanders. Jheryl Wilson (17) and Gary Garris (11) were the others.
UMES shot 18-of-49 for the game with a season-best 9-for-16 from beyond the arc; NJIT was 24-of-60 from the floor. The Hawks held a 42-33 rebounding edge.
UMES returns to the court Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. to host Morgan State.
