PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team went through offensive struggles shooting the ball on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 12) as they fell to the North Carolina Central University Eagles 61-48.
"I felt like the guys had a great effort tonight," head coach Clifford Reed said. "We just have to make open shots and layups and those are momentum killers and that can become an issue."
The pace of the game was slow to early on as neither team scored for the first two and a half minutes. However, the bench of NC Central turned the tide of the game in the first 20 minutes as 25 of their 36 points in the opening half came from non-starters.
Maryland Eastern Shore (2-16, 0-3 MEAC) was able to play almost even with NCCU in the second half as the Eagles outscored the Hawks 25-24 in the final 20 minutes. The Hawks had higher shooting percentages from the floor and three point range, while keeping defensive pressure on the Eagles after halftime.
Junior Isaac Taylor (Wachapreague, VA) was especially strong defensively as he guarded All-MEAC selection Raasean Davis most of the game. Davis was held to two points in 24 minutes of play as foul trouble plagued him as well.
Forward Tyler Jones (Atlantic City, NJ) led the Hawks in scoring with 13 points. Taylor and Montraz Oliver (Princess Anne, MD) each finished with eight points for Eastern Shore. Point guard Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico) had a tough night shooting but dished out 10 assists.
North Carolina Central (7-9, 2-0 MEAC) had 10 different players make a field goal in the contest. They were led by Zacarry Douglas who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Shore will be back in action on Monday evening (Jan. 14) in the Hytche Center against North Carolina A&T University. That game will conclude the Hawks three game home stand before they head to the state of Florida next weekend to face Florida A&M (Jan. 19) and Bethune-Cookman (Jan. 21).
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
