Late Miami run grounds Hawks in Ohio, 88-70

 
SUMMARY

The 12-0 run by Miami (Ohio) proved to be the major difference in the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's 88-70 loss on Tuesday night.
 
THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (1-3) – 70
Miami (OH) Redhawks (2-1) – 88
 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
After falling  behind by nine early, UMES answered with a 14-7 run over a five-minute span sparked by the scoring of Ketron "KC" Shaw and Cardell Bailey. The Hawks cut Miami's lead to 27-25 with 7:50 left in the half. Miami's perimeter shooting, which proved to be consistent throughout the ballgame, kept the Redhawks up throughout the first 20 minutes as Kam Kraft and Elan Elmer knocked down three pointers late in the half to take a 42-38 edge at the intermission.
 
UMES opened the second half on a 7-2 run and took its first lead, 45-44, on a made Bailey three-pointer. A Jose Cuello make from beyond the arc on the Hawks next possession extended the lead to 48-46. Miami responded with a 10-1 run propelled by three point makes from Luke Suder and Peter Skaljac. Down 56-49, UMES bounced back with a 8-3 scoring run to pull with one, 58-57, with 11:25 to go. The Hawks reclaimed the lead on a Shaw layin at the 10:20 mark and another three-point make by Bailey with 8:41 made the score 66-65 in favor of UMES.
 
Elmer provided the answer for the Redhawks, making his next five shot attempts and erupting for 13 points in a three minute span. Suddenly down by double-digits, 78-68, with 4:17 to go, UMES was unable to regain any momentum in the final stages of the game. The Hawks managed to make just one field goal in the final four minutes and were one-for-five from the field with two turnovers as the deficit ballooned to a final score of 88-70.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 
UMES guard Ketron "KC" Shaw led all players with a season-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field. Shaw has scored 20+ points in all four games this season.
 
UMES guard Cardell Bailey posted a season-high 21 points on Tuesday.
 
Miami shot 15-32 (46.9%) from the three-point line.
 
The RedHawks outrebounded UMES 37-22.
 
 
COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR.
 
"In these types of games, it comes down to execution and following our scouting assignments. I don't think we did a great job in those areas tonight. Going into tonight with eight active players, I do think we got tired and made some mental mistakes in the final stages of the game. I expect us to get physically and mentally tougher going forward."
 
"Miami was a really hot team from three point range tonight. We needed to be a better job of getting them off of their spots. By the time we adjusted, their shooters were blazing and it was difficult to cool them off after that."
 
"I thought KC (Shaw) and Cardell (Bailey) found ways to get it going for us offensively. We were mainly effective from the perimeter. They did a good job of defending our post players and we could not find any consistency in the paint. I also thought we struggled at times to stay poised and get into our offensive sets, but there are no excuses. We have a talented team and we will do a better job of executing the game plan moving forward."
 
"We expect to improve our overall team chemistry while continuing to get guys healthy which will help with our overall depth. We simply have to get better."

"Our overall focus before Friday's game is to make sure we are getting caught up academically after a significant travel schedule to start the year, to get as much medical treatment as possible and to get into the film room and make adjustments for Old Dominion."
 

NEXT GAME
 
The Hawks travel to Old Dominion on Friday at 7 pm.