Feb. 19, 2011

Game Notes | Live Audio

BALTIMORE, Md. - Last season, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team defeated Coppin State on Homecoming and looks to win this year on CSU's Homecoming at the Physical Education Complex at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Hawks (6-19; 3-9) are coming off of a 0-2 trip to Florida as they fell, 63-55, to Florida A&M on Saturday and 86-50 to Bethune-Cookman on Monday. The 50 points scored were the lowest for UMES since Jan. 3 when they tallied just 49 points in a loss at Oklahoma. Junior Tyler Hines (Sicklerville, N.J.) lead the Hawks with 11 points and eight rebounds while redshirt junior Hillary Haley (Oxon Hill, Md.) added in ten points.

Haley leads UMES in scoring with 16.6 points per game while Hines grabs an average of 7.5 rebounds per contest to lead the Hawks.

Senior Kevin White (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has dished out a total of 299 assists in his two seasons at UMES (127 this season). Since 2000, no Hawk has gone over 300 assists. Joel Hoover, who recorded 302 over his three-year career, holds the UMES career assists record.

The Eagles (12-12; 7-4) are coming off of a 77-75 loss to North Carolina Central. Nick Chasten converted a lay-in with one second remaining to give NCCU the win. CSU is a very balanced team with four players averaging double figure scoring and is led by Michael Harper's 14.6 points per game.

Earlier this season, the Eagles defeated the Hawks, 77-68, at the Hytche Athletic Center. The game was tied with 4:05 remaining before CSU closed on a 15-6 run. Last season, UMES took all three games from the Eagles.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the Hawks Radio Network at 95.9 The Sports Animal and on the Internet at UMESHawks.com thanks to allinbroadcasting.com. Bret Lasky and Dave Byrd have the call for UMES while Dave Vatz will host the studio show.

179 STRAIGHT: The Hawks have hit at least one 3-point field goal in at least 179 straight games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

SECOND IN CONFERENCE: Tyler Hines ranks second in the MEAC in offensive rebounds per game (3.5). Hines leads the Hawks with 83 offensive rebounds. Hines ranks sixth in the MEAC in overall rebounding at 7.5 per contest. Over the last three games, Hines has 50 rebounds over the last four games. He has recorded double figuring rebounding totals in three of the last four games. per game last season. He is scoring 6.7 points per game this season.

ALL 25: Kevin White is the only player that has started all 25 games this season. White leads the Hawks in minutes per game at 30.3.

MEAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On Feb. 14, Tyler Hines was named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week. He was the first UMES player to receive the honor this season.

EAGLES SCOUTING REPORT: The Eagles are currently in good position to get a bye in the MEAC Tournament, standing 7-4 in conference play, good for lone possession of fourth place, and 12-12 overall. Coppin State won their last MEAC game, a 70-62 victory on the road against South Carolina State. The team fell in their last game against North Carolina Central 77-75 on a final second layup by Nick Chasten.

TOP SCORER IS FROM THE BENCH: Coppin State's leading scorer and the MEAC's 9th leading shooter, Michael Harper, plays off the bench for the Eagles. The junior scores 14.8 points a contest, shoots 47% from the field and 43.9% from behind the arc, the latter being 2nd in the MEAC. He started eight of the first nine games of the season, the last being against Wisconsin on December 23rd, but has not started a game since.

ACCOMPLISHED AKEEM: Akeem Ellis is the only player for Coppin State that has started all 24 games this season. He is second on the team in points (13.1) and rebounds (5.5) a game, as well as earning 52 assists. He also leads the team in three-point attempts with 132, converting 46 (34.8%).

STRONG 3-POINT SHOOTING TEAM: Coppin State ranks second in the MEAC in three-point shooting at 36.3%, just one hundreth of a point behind Delaware State. The Eagles do rank first in three-pointers a game with 7.8 a contest. The team is led by Harper's 43.9% and Ellis's 34.8%. Tony Gallo, who has started 23 games, shoots 33.6% from beyond the arc.

LAST WIN IN BALTIMORE: The Hawks won the last contest at the Physical Education Complex 70-62 over Coppin State on January 23rd, 2010. Former Hawk Neal Pitt got a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards, while Tim Burns scored 20 off the bench.

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.

OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE: Both Coppin State and UMES rank in the top five in the MEAC in offense, the Eagles 2nd with 72.6 points and UMES 5th with 68 a contest, but also in the bottom four in defense, Coppin being 8th with 73.8 a game and UMES being 11th, allowing 79.7 a contest.