DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball look to build off their first conference win with their second game in three days on Monday afternoon (Jan. 21) against the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats. Tip will be at 4 p.m.
The Hawks (3-17, 1-4 MEAC) are coming off a 60-58 overtime win at Florida A&M on Jan. 19. The Shore led the contest for over 37 minutes and held FAMU under 40 percent shooting.
Grad student Ryan Andino (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) led Eastern Shore with 14 points. Juniors Gabriel Gyamfi (Brampton, ON, Canada) and Tyler Jones (Atlantic City, NJ) each finished with 13 points.
Bethune-Cookman (7-11, 2-2 MEAC) is coming off a 69-49 win versus Delaware State. The Wildcats came into the season as the favorites as they were predicted to win the conference by the leagues head coaches and sports information directors.
BCU had two players named preseason first team All-MEAC, Shawntrez Davis and Soufiyane Diakite, and they both have missed games throughout the season. Fellow All-MEAC player Isaiah Bailey suffered a season-ending injury for the Wildcats as well, but junior college transfer Cletrell Pope has picked up the slack.
Pope is tied for fourth in the country in rebounding with 11.6 per game. He is also the only player in the MEAC averaging a double-double as he gets 11.6 points per game also.
Monday will also serve as a homecoming for head coach Clifford Reed. He spent four years as a player and 14 years as a coach, including 10 as the head coach, with the Wildcats.
The contest can be heard locally on Fox Sports 960 AM WTGM and online at EasternShoreHawks.com. Pregame coverage begins with Will DeBoer following the conclusion of the women's game between the Shore and Wildcats.
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
