Jan. 24, 2014
Game Notes | Listen Live! | Video
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team will play its fifth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game of the season on Saturday, as the men are set for action at Bethune-Cookman at 4 p.m. The Hawks have won just three times against BCU in the past 20 matchups and look to win at Moore Gymnasium for the first time since 2003.
UMES (2-14, 0-4 MEAC) comes into the game riding a 12-game losing streak. UMES fell to BCU, 58-57, in its only match against the Wildcats last season. UMES was down by six in the game with 1:34 to go, but six unanswered UMES points tied the game with 18 seconds left. A foul by UMES with two seconds remaining proved to be costly as BCU made the second shot in the double-bonus to claim the win.
The team will need to control the glass against Bethune-Cookman (2-19, 0-6 MEAC), as the Hawks are much taller and deeper in the low post. Despite posting 30 rebounds in only two of its past six contests, UMES holds the advantage on paper. BCU is averaging just 32.5 rpg and do not have anyone taller than 6'8. Senior Troy Snyder (Chicago, Ill.) has at least six boards in four of his past six games.
The Hawks will look to junior KyRee Jones (Indianapolis, Ind.) to once again lead the way. Jones leads the MEAC with 2.5 three-pointers a game and is among the top-10 with 15.6 ppg. Freshman Hakeem Baxter (Philadelphia, Pa.) will control the point for the fifth consecutive game and will look to reclaim his MEAC Rookie of the Week award following the contest.
BCU is being led by Mikel Trappe and Clemmye Owens, who are averaging 10.7 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. The two are the only players on the team averaging double-digit point totals. BCU ranks last in the MEAC in scoring average (62.2 ppg) and defensive rebounds. Much like UMES, BCU relies on its three-point shooting to get the job done as Trappe and Owens are each in the top-5 in the MEAC in three-pointers made per game. The Wildcats are shooting well from the free-throw line 70.8-percent.
Let's take a look at a few game notes for the matchup:
- LAST TIME OUT: UMES was upended at Howard, 88-55, last Saturday night. The Hawks fell behind early in the match and were unable to tame a vicious HU offensive attack. KyRee Jones recorded a team-high 13 points and was 3-of-7 from long range. Ishaq Pitt held his own on the glass with six boards, while Mark Blackmon had a career-high eight points
- MATCHUP AGAINST BCU: The Hawks have won just three times in the past 20 meetings against the Wildcats. UMES last won against BCU in 2010, when the men won, 62-56, at the W.P Hytche Center. The Hawks have not won at Moore Gymnasium in the Frankie Allen era and are winless there since UMES pinned a 74-69 victory over BCU on Jan. 13, 2003
- HAWKS' ROAD LOSING SKID: Including MEAC play, UMES has lost 28 consecutive road contests since the Hawks won at Morgan State on Feb. 11, 2012. The men have not won an out-of-conference road game in their last 26 tries, a span dating back to their victory at Navy on Nov. 11, 2010
- THREE-POINT SHOWDOWN: UMES and BCU have relied on their three-point shots this season. The teams are each averaging 19 attempts per game, including 15 combined games between the two with over 20 tries. The teams have three players between them in the top-5 in the MEAC in threes made with UMES' KyRee Jones leading the way at 2.5 pg.
- STREAKY JONES: KyRee Jones recently had two streaks end. He had made 20 consecutive free-throws across a four-game span end against Norfolk State (Jan. 11). He also saw a seven game double digit game point streak end in the game. He has 15 points in six of the past nine games and has four games over 20 points.
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