ROCK HILL, South Carolina — Before the clock turned from morning to afternoon, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team was playing the Winthrop University Eagles on Thursday (Dec. 20). The Hawks played one of their best games of the year but the Eagles held off the visitors' rally in the second half as Winthrop won the game 88-74.
"I like that we are finding our identity and that is that we will play hard," head coach Clifford Reed said. "On the flipside of that, we had another slow start that was due to us not paying attention to detail and not mentally locking in early."
Following a Ryan Andino (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 3-pointer with 9:39 on the clock in the first half, WU held a 22-18 lead. The Hawks would not score again for five minutes as the Eagles went on a 13-0 run to seize control of the game. That run proved to be the difference in the contest. Winthrop carried a 45-26 lead into the locker room.
Eastern Shore came out with improved defensive intensity in the final 20 minutes which led to them getting more opportunities on offense. The Hawks outscored the Eagles 48-43 in the second half. Much of that turnaround was fueled by Colen Gaynor (Berlin, MD).
Gaynor scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half. The game was his first action of the season and he looked right at home back on the court.
"It felt good to be back out there with my brothers," Gaynor said. "Personally, I just wanted to bring energy, play defense and bring a lot to the table."
Thursday's game was also the return of point guard Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico), who missed the last two games due to injury. He played 21 minutes and scored eight points before fouling out with 11:09 left to play.
"I think Bryan looked good for someone who hadn't got much practice for two weeks," Reed said. "He did a good job of getting into the lane and I think that showed everybody else they could put it on the floor and get to the basket."
Four Hawks got into double digits in the scoring column during Thursday's contest. Andino finished tied for the game high with 21 points. Along with Gaynor's 13, Canaan Bartley (Miami, FL) had 12 points and nine rebounds and Tyler Jones (Atlantic City, NJ) finished with 10 points.
Winthrop also had four players reach double figures led by a 21 point-10 rebound effort from Kyle Zunic.
The Shore will have a quick turnaround as they head to Washington, D.C. to face American University on Saturday (Dec. 22) at noon. The Hawks will be off for Christmas after that and resume play on Dec. 28 at Virginia Tech.
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
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www.easternshorehawks.com
W.P. Hytche Athletic Center Princess Anne, Maryland 21853 Tel: (410) 651-6496 Fax: (410) 651-7600
