Hawks edged by Old Dominion, 73-71

 
SUMMARY

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks were edged, 73-71, at Old Dominion on Friday. 
 


THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (1-4) – 71
Old Dominion Monarchs (1-3) - 73
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Hawks fell behind by eight early as ODU opened the game on a 8-0 run powered by back-to-back dunks by Monarch big man Rodger Swanton.
 
UMES battled back with a 8-2 run to cut the deficit down to two capped by a layin by Chris Flippin at the 13:38 mark.
 
The Hawks took their first lead, 17-15, as Ketron "KC" Shaw scored his ninth point in the first ten minutes of play. The first half became the KC Shaw Show as the UMES guard went on to score 17 in the first 20 minutes of play while Hawk guard Evan Johnson knocked down back-to-back threes late in the half. ODU managed to take a three-point edge, 41-38, at half thanks to 13 first half points from Devin Ceaser and eight points from Sean Durugordon.
 
Chris Flippin opened the scoring in the second half and Shaw threw down a fast break dunk to spark a 8-0 Hawk run to start the second frame. With a 46-41 lead at the 17:16 mark, UMES surrendered a 7-0 run to the Monarchs to fall behind by two. The teams traded baskets to a 58-58 tie by the 10 minute mark before UMES shooting went through a 0-for-11 drought over a seven minute span. While the Hawks struggled from the field, Ceaser began heating up again for the Monarchs with three straight makes and ODU jumped to a 72-64 lead with 3:35 to go.
 
Johnson ended the Hawk shooting woes with a three ball at the 3:10 mark to narrow the gap to five, 72-67. A jumper and free throws from Shaw pulled the Hawks to within two while the UMES defense turned up the intensity down the stretch by holding ODU to without a field goal in the final 3:47 of the game. Down 73-71, a fadeaway jumper from Shaw rimmed out with 2.2 to play. With no timeouts and forced to foul, the Hawks did not have enough time after a missed ODU free throw as the buzzer sounded.
 
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 
UMES guard Ketron "KC" Shaw led all players with a season-high 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds. Shaw has scored 20+ points in all five games this season. Shaw's 30-point performance is the first by a Hawk since Ahmad Frost's 33-point performance on January 6, 2018 in a win over Hampton.
 
UMES forward Jalen Ware came off the bench to grab 11 rebounds
 
In his season debut for the Hawks, guard Evan Johnson came off the bench to score 10 points and dish out four assists while Hassan Perkins added seven points off the bench in his first action of the year.
 
Devin Ceaser led ODU with a team-high 23 points in the victory.
 
UMES was outrebounded, 44-34, and were outscored in second chance opportunities, 12-3.
 
 
COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR.
 
"Despite the result, tonight was encouraging. We did a better job of following our defensive assignments and overall attention to detail. ODU simply made a few more shots than we did and came out on top."
 
"Our chemistry is getting better and we showed some toughness. We continue to practice patience and take the necessary steps to get better."
 
"Our leadership from guys like KC (Shaw), Evan (Johnson) and Hassan (Perkins) showed in our defensive efforts down the stretch. I thought our guys fought. Some things just did not go our way but ultimately I liked how we fought."
 
"Our rebounding has been a challenge for us through the first five games. I was happy with Jalen Ware's efforts on the glass tonight but we are going to continue to have to find ways to be better in that area. It will be a point of emphasis all season long."
 
"KC (Shaw) continues to efficient and consistent. I thought he was extremely explosive early on in the game. He works on his craft everyday and I am just happy he followed me to UMES."
 
"We will have a chance to prepare over the weekend and get necessary treatment for Monday's game. We are excited to be able to play infront of our fans and bring the Hawk Pride into Monday."
 
NEXT GAME
 
The Hawks host Gallaudet on Monday at 7 pm.