DENTON, Texas — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team had a rough night from the field as the Hawks fell to the University of North Texas Mean Green 68-34 on Saturday night (Nov. 17).
The Hawks shot 22.6 percent from the field and 13.6 percent behind the arc. North Texas played extended defense on the perimeter much of the night to make many shots difficult for Maryland Eastern Shore. That combined with misses on high percentage shots proved to be the downfall for the Hawks ability to score in the contest.
"The Mean Green of North Texas play very good perimeter defense," head coach Clifford Reed said. "Also, I thought we could get their big in ball screens because he is not laterally quick, but he played great and took away where I thought we could have an advantage."
In the first half, UNT used a 13-0 run to build a double digit lead in the first 12 minutes. However, the Hawks would respond with a run of their own fueled by the shooting of graduate student Ryan Andino (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). The team captain has been struggling with his shot early in the season but he has shown improvement in the last three halves the Hawks have played.
"Everybody else seems to be concerned about (Andino) shooting the ball, but I'm not," Reed said. "He's the best I've seen shooting the ball.
"Being out a year did hurt him with his timing and technique, but as soon as he gets back in game flow he will continue to be better with his shot."
Andino scored all of his team-high 11 points in the first half to keep the Hawks in it. He and sophomore Canaan Bartley (Miami, FL) combined for ten points in the last five minutes of the first half to close the gap to 30-21 at the break.
The Shore could not ride that momentum into the second half as North Texas turned up their defensive pressure. UNT outscored Maryland Eastern Shore 38-13 in the second half.
North Texas was especially tough on junior AJ Cheeseman (Snellville, GA). Cheeseman came into Saturday averaging 18 points per game for the Hawks. He was held to just two versus the Mean Green.
The Shore will now travel to Macon, GA on Sunday to prepare and get ready for their game on Tuesday (Nov. 20) against Mercer University. After that they will return home to face Central Penn next Saturday (Nov. 24). The next two games should test the Hawks as they look to rebound after a less than stellar performance against North Texas.
"I compare this situation to two of my favorites, Ronnie Lott and Deion Sanders," Reed said. "They were the best to play at their position and sometimes got beat but they always had a short memory and that's what we have to do."
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
