HARRISONBURG, Virginia — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore got out early on the road Sunday (Dec. 4) at James Madison leading for the first 28 minutes of the game, before the Dukes clawed their way back. The two teams entered the fourth quarter even at 53-53, but the Hawks (3-7) were outscored 17-6 in the fourth quarter and fell 70-59.
"We were not quite ready for the moment," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "That was a killer fourth quarter and it started in the first half. We were up 14 in the second and they threw a half-court trap on and it changed the game. There was a size factor and our kids fought, they played hard and played well for three quarters and then they had a bad fourth."
The Dukes (6-2) outscored the Hawks 34-12 in the paint and the James Madison bench outscores the UMES reserves 43-8. Rebounds were an even 35-35. The Hawks played just nine players and six of those played more than 20 minutes. Cache's Wilson was one of the nine, but played just nine minutes — her first of the season after rehabbing an injury.
"I think it's a little bit of a breakdown," Batchelor said. "We had two kids who played more than 35 minutes. They played 11 kids and I think fatigue was part of it. We just wore down a little bit.
Junior Zamara Haynes (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) scored a game-high 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Senior Mya Thomas (Chesapeake, Virginia) had 13 points — 10 in the first half — and freshman Jála Bannerman (Baltimore, Maryland) scored eight all before the half.
"The thing with a young team is that the fatigue hits you more mentally and I felt like we succumbed mentally to the fatigue," Batchelor said. "Our guards had 30 of our 37 points at the half. And I thought they had played great defense. But I think it took its toll down the stretch and we weren't able to fight through it and mentally make the plays we needed to."
The Hawks had just five assists in the contest and turned the ball over 22 times, while forcing just 15. UMES also shot 42% from the field and 69% from the free throw line (11-of-16), but only made 4-of-17 from behind the arc, while JMU was 8-of-25 (32%).
UMES has come a long way since the opener at Miami, and that leaves Batchelor in the position of figuring out how much to focus on the mistakes his young team is still making as they continue to give him maximum effort.
"It's a very delicate balance," Batchelor said. "The kids went out, effort wise, there was no question we gave maximum effort. But there are moments when you have those mental mistakes. They cost you momentum, they cost you movement and they cost you the game. That's kind of what happened. We have to learn from that."
The Hawks will next travel to East Carolina for a 6 p.m. contest on Tuesday (Dec. 6).
