Nov. 20, 2014 Box Score
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team earned their first victory of the Bobby Collins era with a 53-41 final over Mount St. Mary's. UMES (1-2) spoiled the home opener for the Mountaineers with a double-digit win on the road.
Unlike the previous two games, the Hawks jumped out to a great start, taking a lead in the opening moments of the contest. UMES led wire-to-wire, never relinquishing the advantage after Devon Walker's layup on the first possession. The defense was particularly stout in the first half, holding Mount St. Mary's to 11 points before the break. The Hawks finished the first half by allowing just one point in the final six minutes and 28 seconds.
With a 26-11 lead at halftime, UMES had to withstand a charge from the Mount coming out of the locker room. The Mountaineers came out hot, scoring the first eight points after halftime, trimming the Hawks' lead down to seven points. Devon Walker responded with the Hawks' next ten points to keep the lead in double digits, finishing with a team-high 14 points for the night.
Mount St. Mary's did not back down, as Byron Ashe scored six straight points to cut the Hawks' lead down to 36-31. However, Mount St. Mary's failed to tighten the gap closer than five points after Devin Martin hit a big three-pointer to make it 39-31. UMES hit just enough free throws down the stretch to seal a 53-41 victory.
The Hawks' defensive effort and strong rebounding propelled the team to victory. UMES held their opponents to under 30% shooting percentage for the evening. The Hawks won the rebounding battle, 38 to 26, and limited the Mount to just six second chance points. In all, UMES held Mount St. Mary's to just 41 points, the first time the Hawks have allowed fewer than 50 points since February 25, 2013 vs. Howard.
Devon Walker led the team with 14 points, often scoring in clutch situations. Dominique Elliott stepped up his performance with all seven of his rebounds coming in the second half. Mike Myers put up a workmanlike seven points and seven rebounds in the low post.
UMES' win comes against a Mount St. Mary's team that won the NEC Tournament a year ago, appearing in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. It was the Hawks' second win against their in-state foe in the past two seasons, defeating the Mountaineers, 78-71 last year. The 12-point victory was also the Hawks' first road non-conference win by double digits in over twenty years,
since they won at Navy by the score 82-71 on December 11, 1993. Coincidentally, the 1993-1994 season was the last year UMES posted an overall winning record. The Hawks play the second game of a back-to-back against #15 ranked Virginia Commonwealth on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. Hawks fans can catch all the action on the Hawks Radio Network powered by SFMSports.Net and the new flagship station Fox Sports 960 AM WTGM in Salisbury, Md.
For complete recaps, results and news of Hawk athletics, please visit www.umeshawks.com
