PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team makes its return to the Hytche on Tuesday, November 22 when Marist makes the trip to Princess Anne. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m., with the game following the women's contest against Towson at 5 p.m.
The Hawks are back in the nest after a two-game skid on the road against UNC Charlotte on November 14 and George Washington last Friday, November 18.
Last Time Out
A late comeback effort from the Hawks was not enough to topple the Colonials on Friday as George Washington escaped with a 69-64 win.
Trailing by 10 with 36 seconds to go, Ahamadou Fofana sprinted down the court off the inbound and kicked it to Tuka Nugent, who buried a three to slice the lead to seven.
The Hawks turned on the pressure defensively and forced the second turnover in as many Colonial possessions just after, and Nathaniel Pollard Jr. dropped in a layup to slim the margin to five.
Zion Styles forced the third consecutive George Washington turnover, but the Hawks could not find the basket again with nine seconds to play.
Fofana finished with a team-high 13 points, while Pollard tallied 15 rebounds, his Hawk career-high.
The History
It has been nearly four decades since the first and only matchup between UMES and Marist. The Red Foxes defended Poughkeepsie with an 85-54 victory over the Hawks in the lone meeting on December 5, 1986.
The Hawks scuffled in the 1986-87 season, finishing 2-24 overall. Marist went on to have quite the successful season, finishing 20-10 under then-head coach Dave Magarity and earning an NCAA tournament berth.
The Red Foxes fell to #3 Pittsburgh in the first round of the tournament that postseason, 93-68.
Scouting the Red Foxes
The Marist roster looks a bit different than many across the nation.
While your average college basketball roster leans on the guard-heavy side, the Red Foxes boast 10 players listed either at forward or center, and just four with guard as their primary spot.
One of the many bigs on the roster, graduate transfer center Patrick Gardner, spearheads the Red Fox approach. Gardner has scored 15+ points in three out of four appearances this season and posted a double-double with 24 points and 13 boards back on November 12 against Binghamton.
He has caused problems for teams early this season, in large part due to his shooting ability as a nearly seven-footer.
"He's a really good inside-outside guy, he can shoot the three and make plays around the basket," head coach Jason Crafton said. "He's probably one of the more skilled frontcourt bigs in low-to-mid-major basketball, and we've got to do a great job of neutralizing his ability to score in the post and not let him get free for three-point shots on the perimeter."
In addition to the production from Gardner, the Red Foxes have three players outside of Gardner averaging 9+ points on the season. The attack benefits from various screens and picks that free up offensive looks on the outside.
"We have to guard their action," Crafton said. "They run some good screening action, and we've got to communicate and make sure that we follow our game plan to eliminate the ability to get open three-point shots. If we can do that and rebound the basketball, I think we'll have a chance."
Following a contest against George Washington that narrowly slipped away, the Hawks are looking for the tenacity they showed in the final stretch of that game to carry through 40 minutes.
"I think we've started to show that we can play with an edge, and if we can keep that edge we showed against George Washington and execute, especially offensively, that's going to show growth for our team," Crafton said. "Hopefully that leads to a win, if it does not we just want to see strides in that area because that's what we need to do down the line to be successful."
