WASHINGTON, D.C. — The University of Maryland Eastern men's basketball team never let Georgetown University pull away, but the Hoyas were able to keep the Hawks at bay and get a 68-53 win in both team's season opener. Georgetown outscored the Hawks by 10 in the first half and five in the second half during their wire-to-wire win.
The overall length of the Hoyas bothered the Hawks throughout the game as they had seven blocks to just one for the Hawks. Georgetown's size did not translate to a major advantage on the glass though as they only held a 40-34 advantage on rebounds with the Hawks outrebounding the Hoyas on the offensive boards 10-7. Defensively, the Shore saw a lot success during the contest of as they had 13 steals and forced 19 turnovers.
"I am appreciative of how hard the guys played tonight," head coach Clifford Reed said. "We are trying to develop an identity and I think we are starting to do that."
Eastern Shore showed multiple defenses throughout that game that lead to their success on defense, but they went through offensive lulls at different points that hindered their ability to close the Hoyas lead.
The longest came after redshirt junior Dontae Caldwell (Santa Ana, CA) made a layup at the 9:24 mark of the first half to bring the Hawks within three at 18-15. The Shore would not score again until the 2:01 mark after missing nine consecutive field goals.
Despite the size difference on the inside, the Hawks did do well attacking the paint as they finished with a 32-24 advantage on paint points. Eastern Shore also attempted 11 more shots than Georgetown at 63-52, but they made one less field goal overall and made five less shots from behind the arc.
"I like how we went inside strong during the game," Reed said. "But we do have to work on our overall discipline offensively as we go forward."
Forward AJ Cheeseman (Snellville, GA) led the Hawks with 19 points, with 15 of those coming in the second half. Cheeseman will be the Hawks primary interior scoring early in the season as fellow junior Isaac Taylor (Wachapreague, VA) tends to an upper-body injury.
"In the first half I wasn't able to really get going," Cheeseman said. "But at the half the coaches told me what I needed to do, so I listened and used my skills to play hard and create for myself and my teammates."
Another bright spot for the Hawks was junior point guard Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico). He finished with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Caldwell led the Hawks on the glass with eight rebounds.
Georgetown was led by freshman Josh Leblanc as he had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds on 4-4 shooting. He also had two blocks. Two other Hoyas, Jessie Govan and Jamorko Pickett, finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points respectively.
"We played how we have been practicing from an intensity standpoint," Reed said. "We hustled and really got after it and did not concede a lot and I am happy with that."
The Hawks will return to practice on Thursday before traveling to Raleigh to face the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday (Nov. 9).
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
