PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — As the regular season came to a close on Thursday night (March 3), the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team was able to dig deep and outlast their Route 13 rival, the Delaware State University Hornets, for a 63-59 win on senior night.
"I thought the crunch time toughness was the biggest thing that stood out to me tonight," head coach Jason Crafton said. "I'm happy to get the win, but we know we have to get better and hopefully we can get healthy as we go into the tournament."
Thursday's game was welcome back to the lineup for senior Zion Styles. He is second on the team in scoring and he had missed the previous five games due to injury. He came out and scored the team's first four points in his return.
After 11 minutes of play, the two teams were tied at 11. Junior Kevon Voyles hit a 3-pointer to split the tie and put the team ahead. The Hawks would keep the lead for the remainder of the half after the Voyles shot.
By the time junior Da'Shawn Phillip hit back to back layups with 2:22 on the clock, Eastern Shore led 25-19. DSU would hit a jumper and a shot from long distance to make the score 25-24 as the two teams headed into the locker room for halftime.
When the second half started, the pace was frantic. In the opening four minutes of the half, the Hawks scored 12 points, while the Hornets scored 10 to make the score 37-34 heading into the under 16:00 media timeout.
Freshman Chace Davis made a fast break layup with 11:52 on the clock to put the team ahead 42-36. Delaware State responded by scoring nine straight points to lead 45-42. Phillip would hit a layup at the 5:43 mark to end the run and Voyles would hit a free throw on the team's next possession to tie the score at 45 as the final five minutes began.
The Hornets made a foul shot to go up 46-45. Junior Dom London answered that by hitting two straight shots from long distance to put the Hawks ahead 51-46 with 3:38 remaining. DSU made two free throws after that, but London continued his hot streak and hit a driving layup to put the squad up 53-48.
The next minute saw both teams come up empty on the scoreboard. Delaware State made two free throws with 2:13 on the clock to make the score 53-50. Senior Mayowa Akinsanya was fouled 11 seconds later and stepped to the line for a one and one opportunity. He knocked down both foul shots to give Eastern Shore a two possession lead.
DSU made two from the stripe on their next possession and Akinsanya once again was fouled. He stepped to the line again and would sink two to make the score 57-52 with 80 seconds left in the game. After the makes, the Hornets got a 3-point play to get within two. Phillip missed a shot on the team's next time down the court, but forced a tie up on the rebound with 38 seconds left and the possession arrow kept the ball with The Shore.
After a timeout, London got the ball and set up an isolation at the top of the key. He made a move to the right wing and tried to cross back over, but lost the ball. He was able to regain the ball and find Akinsanya underneath for a layup to make the score 59-55 with 23 seconds left.
Seven seconds later, the Hornets got a layup to get within two again. They would foul senior Donchevell "Tuka" Nugent following the inbounds pass and he would also knock down two from the line to make the score 61-57. Once again, Delaware State made a quick layup and this time fouled Phillip after the inbound. He would step up and make two from the line as well.
Following Phillip's shots at the line, the Hornets sped up the court to try to get another quick layup but this time Akinsanya stepped in and took a charge with four seconds left and the victory was secured.
"Mayowa hasn't been a great free throw shooter for us this year, so for him to come in and make those on senior day is a credit to his hard work," Crafton said. "And Dom without actually telling me, but from the things he was doing, it told me to get him the ball and he made some great reads and tough shots."
Phillip scored 16 points to lead the squad in scoring. London scored all 14 of his points in the second half. Senior Nathaniel Pollard, Jr. pulled down seven rebounds to lead the team on the boards.
Despite the win, Eastern Shore had a tough night shooting the field. However, their defense was strong as they held the conference's leading scorer Myles Carter to eight points on 4-10 shooting and he would foul out.
The Hawks will now enter the MEAC Tournament as the number six seed. They will face number three seed, North Carolina Central, in the quarterfinals next Thursday (March 10) at 8 p.m. at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
