WASHINGTON, D.C. — A strong second half from the Howard University Bison proved to be too much for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team as they fell 72-57 on Monday night (Jan. 28).
"We wanted to limit their number of possessions to give ourselves an opportunity to win," head coach Clifford Reed said. "We had a strategy and tried to control tempo and shooters but they got off as the game went on."
The Hawks trailed 31-25 at the break after redshirt junior Dontae Caldwell (Santa Ana, CA) hit a three at the halftime buzzer. Maryland Eastern Shore shot 45 percent from the floor in the first half as HU shot 40.7 percent.
Eastern Shore continued to keep it close into the first five minutes of the second half as a Tyler Jones (Atlantic City, NJ) jumper made the score 42-38 with 14:39 left. The Bison responded with an 18-6 run over the next six minutes that was punctuated with an alley-oop.
"We're playing 30 minutes as opposed to playing 40 minutes," Reed said. "So we have to play complete games, which means rebounding and defending better as well as staying mentally locked."
The Shore finished with three players in double figures. Jones led the way with 17 points with 13 of those coming in the second half. Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico) had a nice all-around game and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Gabriel Gyamfi (Brampton, ON, Canada) had 10 points along with connecting on his first three point field goal of the season.
Howard (10-12, 4-3 MEAC) got a game high 21 points from CJ Williams and 20 from Chad Lott. The Hawks held the MEAC's leading scorer RJ Cole to just 10 points, but he was able to dish out eight assists.
Maryland Eastern Shore will now play their next two games at home. The first will be Saturday afternoon (Feb. 2) versus South Carolina State. The game will be the return of former Hawks coach Bobby Collins as he serves as an assistant with the Bulldogs. The Hawks will face Savannah State on Monday evening (Feb. 4).
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
