PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore will be looking to shake off a 60-55 road loss to South Carolina State on Jan. 20, when it plays host to Morgan State (9-11, 5-2 MEAC) Monday (Jan. 27) at 5:30 p.m.
The Hawks (4-14, 1-4 MEAC) have had a week to chew over what happened in Orangeburg, when they dropped what should have been a winnable game on the road.
"Practice went well this week," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "We had a lengthy practice schedule and we didn't take a day of other than the travel day. That wasn't the plan, but…"
That "but" was the frustrating loss that sent the coaches back to the drawing board looking for answers with 11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games remaining before the tournament.
Although grudgingly, The Shore regrouped and got back to practice working to turn the fortunes around before the season gets away from them.
"I did think it gave us some time to focus on some things we really needed to focus on in not beating ourselves," Batchelor said. "We had a good week. I thought the energy of the kids was great. The enthusiasm that they have shown at this point in the year with the disappointments we have had has really been something to recognize. I'm appreciative of that. However, we just need to get on the floor and play better than we have the last time and start to play some good basketball which we haven't done consistently this year."
The Bears are a unique challenge with three players in double figures (Chelsea Mitchell, Dahnye Redd and Ashia McCalla) and Mitchell and Redd doing much of their damage inside while combining for 16.2 rebounds a game.
They team itself has been up and down picking up a big win against North Carolina A&T State, but then scoring just 12 points in the first half of a close victory at Coppin on Saturday (Jan. 25).
"I think Morgan has just taken a particular approach," Batchelor said. "I think their biggest strength is just that they are junkyard dogs. They get it from their coach (Ed Davis) and they find a way to win ugly games. Their last two games have been statistically atrocious if you look at the numbers but if you look at the end you see a W. They found a way to win at Coppin on the road being down double digits. They found a way to overcome missing 16 free throws and shooting an abysmal percentage form the field and the free throw line. They found a way."
Finding a way is what the Hawks have not been doing also suffering from similar shooting woes at times from the field and the line. The performance over the last few games caused the coaching staff to open things up before this week of practice.
The lineup is going to be decided by what happens in practice. Having had 10 different starters this season, the staff isn't afraid to try something new until they get the right mix.
Monday's starting lineup will include the first starts for sophomore Taylor Clayborne (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) and freshman Jamaya Blanks (Greensboro, North Carolina).
"We're shaking up the lineup a little bit," Batchelor said. "Basically, we are interested to see what happens if we base it on what happens during the week in practice. Our bench has outscored the opponents bench the last two games, so they have been giving us something. Now we want to look at shaking some things up and this is probably just the beginning. I'm looking to shake things up until we get to a point where we can settle into who is really going to play a bulk of the minutes and we are not there yet."
