Feb. 22, 2010
Feb. 22, 2010 - Princess Anne, Md.- It was homecoming week on the campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and several athletic teams were busy. The men's and women's basketball teams played a combined five home games, while the baseball season also officially got under way in Williamsburg, Virginia.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Junior Kevin White (Brooklyn, N.Y.) needed five assists to break Jesse Brooks' single season assist record for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and he recorded seven in the Hawks' 62-56 win over Bethune-Cookman Monday night in front of 2,479 at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center.
Brooks' record of 142 assists was accomplished in the 2005-06 campaign and White had 138 coming into tonight's contest. White also scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds while registering two steals.
UMES won their Homecoming game for the first time since 2002 with a 66-52 win over in-state rival Coppin State University (CSU). With the win, UMES improves to 7-6 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and moves to fourth place in the league. "This is a big win for our program," said Head Coach Frankie Allen. "We stressed that we hadn't won a Homecoming game in a long time and our guys took it upon themselves to make sure we not only got the win, but made a statement to our fans and alumni that this program is headed in the right direction."
Tyler Hines (Sicklerville, N.J.) had an all-around game for UMES, posting a game-high 13 rebounds while adding nine points, four assists, a block and a steal. Tim Burns (Franklinville, N.J.) led UMES with 12 points while White chipped in 10 points and five assists.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team mounted a late second-half rally against Bethune-Cookman behind a game-high 27 points from senior April McBride (New Rochelle, N.Y.) but came up short in a 61-54 loss at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center Monday.
The Lady Hawks (8-13, 5-6 MEAC) erased an eight-point halftime deficit taking their first lead since the opening minute of play when redshirt sophomore Bria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y.) drained a 3-pointer from the corner to put her team up, 50-49, with 5:50 remaining in the game. UMES was never able to lengthen its advantage on successive trips down the floor as B-CU's Sarah Bolden converted a layup at the 4:01 mark to take control of the game for Lady Wildcats (13-11, 8-4) for good.
McBride recorded a career-high 31 points, including 25 in the second half and overtime, but the University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team fell to Florida A&M, 75-67, at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center Wednesday. McBride shot 10-for-20 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line, adding seven rebounds, as UMES dropped its third straight game in conference to fall to 8-14 (5-7 MEAC). Tameka McKelton led FAMU with 30 points and 13 rebounds to help the Lady Rattlers to their third straight win and improve to 15-8 and 7-5 in the MEAC.
McBride again scored a career-high 34 points on 13-for-21 shooting to lead the University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team to a 76-56 win over Coppin State at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center Saturday.
The victory for UMES (9-14, 6-7) stopped a three-game losing streak and improved the Lady Hawks to 7-2 on homecoming since the 2001-02 season. The win also marked the first time since the 1996-97 season that the Lady Hawks swept the season series with Coppin State.
BASEBALL
Tadd Bower went 4-for-5 with a home run and a triple and Logan Billbrough allowed one hit over six innings as the William and Mary baseball team shutout the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team, 24-0, at Plumeri Park in the season opener for both teams Friday.
Bower scored three runs and drove in five more and Billbrough faced just four batters over the minimum to earn the victory.
Junior right fielder Bryan Chaikowsky (Bethlehem, Pa.) laced a double to center in the fourth inning and freshman designated hitter Donnie Haines (Carneys Point, N.J.) tripled to right field in the for the Hawks only two hits.
Freshman Tre-Von Johnson (East New Market, Md.) was 3-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and three RBIs as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team built a 7-1 lead through four-and-a-half innings but William and Mary came from behind to defeat the Hawks, 11-7, at Plumeri Park Saturday.
The Tribe (2-0) used a five-run eighth inning to complete the comeback after the UMES bats came alive in the early going.
Junior-college transfers Luis Mena (Cape Coral, Fla.) and Nick Wiggins (Littleton, Colo.) also had multiple-hit efforts in their second career games. Mena hit 2-for-4 with a run scored while Wiggins went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs. William and Mary right-hander Brett Goodloe pitched six innings, limiting the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team to two hits as the Tribe completed a three-game series sweep with a 5-0 win at Plumeri Park Sunday.
Goodloe's counterpart on the mound, Hawks' starter sophomore Karim Gonzalez (Mexico City, Mexico) deserved a better fate, throwing 7.1 innings and giving up three hits and four earned runs but four UMES errors proved costly for the visitors.
Juniors Elliott Alston (Littleton, Colo.) and J.J. Corriveau (Hollywood, Fla.) and freshman Lucas Koenig (Berlin, Md.) had base hits - all singles - for UMES (0-3), which next plays at Navy Wednesday at 2 p.m.
UPCOMING WEEK
The Hytche Center will host a women's-men's double header Monday night against Morgan State beginning at 5:30. At half time of both games the seniors will be honored as part of "Senior Night". Saturday the two teams travel to Howard University for another double header beginning at 2 pm. The Baseball team is next in action against Navy on Wednesday at 2 pm. The Hawks will open up a three game series against Rider beginning on Friday at noon.
