Hawks falter down stretch in loss at Buffalo

BUFFALO, New York - A late fourth quarter run by Buffalo doomed the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks in a 70-61 loss on Saturday.


The loss drops the Hawks to 6-7 overall while the Bulls of Buffalo improve to 6-4 overall.


After trailing by as many as seven in the first quarter, the Hawks used a 7-0 run midway through the second period to climb back within one, 29-30, by half.


While never capturing the lead at any point, UMES continued to stay within striking distance of the Bulls throughout the third quarter. Hattie Ogden knocked down a three-pointer at the end of the third period to put Buffalo up by four heading into the final 10 minutes of play.


After two Mahogany Lester free throws pulled the Hawks to within two points, 54-52, at the 6:28 mark of the fourth, the Bulls erupted with a 14-1 run as Ogden capped off the scoring with three straight makes from beyond the arc.


Down by 15 with 3:13 to play, UMES was unable to answer the sudden Buffalo scoring streak on the way to the nine-point loss.


"Buffalo had two great shooters take over at a crucial part of the game," said UMES head coach Fred Batchelor. "They hit big shots at the right times and we couldn't find the answer on the other end when we needed a basket."


Three-point shooting and ball possession proved to be a key factor in the game. Buffalo's Ogden and Chellia Watson each made six three-pointers in the victory while the Bulls recorded a season-low six turnovers to Hawk's 19 giveaways.


"Moving forward, we will look to improving on our level of focus and concentration for the entire duration of games," says Batchelor. "Buffalo did some good things today but I also thought we hurt ourselves with our turnovers. We also need to find more consistency from our bench as we move forward into January and with big conference games coming up."


Watson led all scorers with 28 points while Ogden had 18 on the afternoon.


UMES was led by 16 points, four assists and four rebounds from Mya Thomas. Ariana Seawell had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Lester also had 11 points in the loss.


UMES hosts Lancaster Bible College on Wednesday.