Jan. 22, 2011
Game Notes | Live Audio/Video
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team continues their four-game homestand with a 4 p.m. conference matchup with Coppin State at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center Saturday.
The Hawks (4-13; 1-3) split last weekend with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foes Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman. UMES defeated the Rattlers, 86-81, in overtime on Saturday and fell to the Wildcats, 71-64, on Monday. Junior Tyler Hines (Sicklerville, N.J.) paced the Hawks with 16 points and six rebounds while redshirt junior Hillary Haley (Oxon Hill, Md.) chipped in 12 points and junior Dishawn Bradshaw (Baltimore, Md.) scored ten points.
Haley and Bradshaw are the lone UMES players who average in double figures with 15.2 points and 11.6 points per game, respectively. Hines leads the team in rebounding with an average of 6.4 per contest.
Coppin State (7-9; 2-2) is coming off of an 84-80 win over South Carolina State on Monday in Baltimore. All of the Eagles wins have come at home as they are 0-7 on the road this season. They are the only team in the MEAC with four players averaging in double figures in Michael Harper (15.7), Tony Gallo (12.4), Akeem Ellis (11.2) and Jordan Lee (10.3). Today marks Coppin's first road contest since December 31.
The Hawks had the better of the Eagles last season, winning all three meetings between the two teams, including a 64-58 victory in the first round of the MEAC Tournament. UMES also defeated Coppin, 70-62, on Jan. 23, 2010 in Baltimore and 66-52 on Feb. 20, 2010 in Princess Anne (UMES' homecoming).
The contest between the Hawks and Eagles can be heard live on the Internet at UMESHawks.com thanks to allinbroadcasting.com and on the Hawks Radio Network on 95.9 The Sports Animal. Bret Lasky, Dave Byrd and Dave Vatz have the call for UMES.
MEAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: On Monday, JoJo Swift was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week for his outstanding play this past weekend. Swift has seven points and three assists against FAMU and six points and a season high eight assists against Bethune-Cookman.
EIGHT STRAIGHT: Hillary Haley has scored in double figures in eight straight games, a season high. He has poured in over 15 points in seven of the eight games. Haley has 13 double figure scoring games, tied for the most on the team (Dishawn Bradshaw). The Oxon Hill, Md. native is averaging 17.87 points per game over the last seven.
IMPROVED REBOUNDER: Hillary Haley ranks second on the Hawks in rebounding at 5.1 per game. Last year, he averaged 3.4 per night. In 17 games this season, he has secured 29 offensive rebounds. Last season (32 games), he grabbed only 35 offensive rebounds.
171 STRAIGHT: The Hawks have hit at least one 3-point field goal in at least 171 straight games dating back to the 2004-05 season.
BALANCED ATTACK: UMES is one of four teams in the MEAC with five players over 100 points for the season (FAMU, N.C. A&T, S.C. State). Hillary Haley (259), Dishawn Bradshaw (197), Kevin White (153), Tyler Hines (140) and Freddy Obame Obame (101) are the five over 100 points.
A THIEF: Joseph Swift has 11 steals in the last five games. He leads the Hawks with 17 steals on the year. Swift had a season high four steals against NCCU.
2-0 IN OT: UMES is a perfect 2-0 in overtime this season. The Hawks beat Navy on Nov. 27 in overtime, 89-81. Last Saturday,UMES topped FAMU, 86-81, in overtime.
21 MORE SHOTS: UMES has attempted 21 more shots than its opponents over the last two games. The Hawks took eight more shots than FAMU and 13 more attempts than Bethune-Cookman.
LEADING SCORER: Hillary Haley has led the Hawks in scoring in seven of the last eight games. He has paced the Hawks in ten of the 17 games.
FOURTH IN CONFERENCE: Tyler Hines ranks fourth in the MEAC in offensive rebounds per game (3.1). Hines leads the Hawks with 53 offensive rebounds. Hines ranks ninth in the MEAC in overall rebounding at 6.4 per contest.
FANG + FRANKIE: The two head coaches in today's game have a combined 46 years of coaching experience and 631 wins at the Division I level.
FEW TURNOVERS: UMES has recorded equal or fewer turnovers than their opponents in each of the last five games. In the first 12 games, the Hawks committed more turnovers than its opponents in seven games.
REUNIONS: Three players from Monroe College will suit up in today's contest. One from UMES (Freddy Obame Obame) and two from Coppin State (Antonio Williams and Osman Olol). Mike Simpson of Coppin State and Tyler Hines of UMES both hail from Sicklerville, N.J. while Michael Murray and Akeem Ellis of Coppin State and JoJo Swift and Kevin White of UMES all hail from Brooklyn, N.Y.
THE SHOOTERS TOUCH: Between the second half and overtime last Saturday against FAMU, UMES shot 59.3 percent from the floor (19-of-32). The Hawks shot 53.0 percent from the floor in total, their second highest shooting percentage of the season.
EAGLES SCOUTING REPORT: The Eagles are coming off a win against South Carolina State 84-80 at home after coming back from down eight at halftime. Coppin State stands at 7-9, including 2-2 in conference play. They have won three of their last five games, all contests coming at home, but have yet to win a road game in seven chances.
HARPING ON SUCCESS: Junior guard Michael Harper is leading the team in scoring with 15.7 points a game, fourth in the MEAC, getting double digits in every game he has played. Last season, UMES held Harper to just 11 points combined in the last two games played against Coppin State.
VERY BALANCED: In their game against South Carolina State, Coppin State had five players reach double digit points, plus another that scored nine. Jordan Lee led the way with 14. Harper, Toni Gallo, Vince Goldsberry and Akeem Ellis all had 12 or 13 points against the Bulldogs. Coppin State ranks second in the MEAC in points per game with 69.5 a contest, including three of the top-25 individual scorers.
WATCH OUT FOR THE PERIMETER: Coppin State leads the MEAC in threes per game with 7.8 a contest. The Eagles are also second in the conference in three-point percentage at 36.3 percent, less than one point behind Delaware State (37 percent).
FANG: Ron "Fang" Mitchell is one of the MEAC's greatest coaches in history in his 25th year at Coppin State. No other current coach in the conference has been in their current position for more than 11 years. The Eagles under Mitchell have reached four NCAA Tournaments plus two NITs. His career record at Coppin State is 386-352.
WE LOVE YOU BALTIMORE: Coppin State will be playing their first MEAC game outside of Baltimore when they play UMES. In their four conference games, three have come at home. The other was an away match against their travel partner, Morgan State, also based in Baltimore. Coppin State's Monday match against Delaware State will be their first conference contest outside of the state of Maryland.
VERY DIFFERENT TEAM: The Eagles have just four players back from last season: Harper, Doughty, Goldsberry and Cesloyas Kucinskas. Last year Coppin State went 8-22 overall, 3-13 in conference play.
GOLDSBERRY ON POINT: As the point guard, Vince Goldsberry averages three assists per game. He has the second-best assist-turnover ratio in the MEAC at 1.8: three assists a contest vs. 1.6 turnovers a game. Only Jay Threatt of Delaware State averages better with a ratio of 2.6: 6.3 assists a game and 2.4 turnovers a contest.
