SUMMARY

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks fell short in the final seconds to Howard, 70-66, on Saturday night.
 
 

THE SCORE


Howard Bison (14-15; 8-4) - 70
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (8-18; 3-9) - 66
 



HOW IT HAPPENED


In a slow-paced start to the game, UMES trailed 14-10 by the 11:47 mark of the first half. Both teams struggled from the field early on shooting an identical 4-for-12 from the field.
 

Howard started to warm up from three point range, making four of the next five three point attempts to extend the margin to seven, 25-18 with 6:14 to play. The HU lead went up to as many as 12 before a four point play by Kelechi Okworogwo cut the deficit down to eight, 38-30, at half.
 

Jordan Hairston (10 points) , Marcus Dockery (9 points) and Dom Campbell (8 points) did the majority of the Bison scoring while the Hawks were paced by Okworogwo's 11 points off the bench.
 

A 12-2 run by the Hawks early in the second half by the Hawks evened the score up as two Dionte Johnson free throws tied it up, 42-42, at the 14:34 mark. Bryce Harris knocked down a three to put HU back up on the next possession.
 

Up by three, a Hairston three-point play put HU back up by two possessions, 50-44, with 10:51 to go. The Hawks scored on back to back offensive trips to cut the deficit to one before a Dockery three-pointer gave Howard a 56-52 lead with 6:41 to go. Hairston knocked down his next two three-point attempts as the Bison remained ahaead by six, 64-58, entering the final 4:45 of play.


Down by five with 1:46 to play, UMES guard Dionte Johnson converted on a reverse layin to cut the lead to three. A three-pointer by Elijah Wilson rattled around the rim and dropped to tie the game up, 66-66, with 40.2 seconds. Howard came up with a put-back layin by Bryce Harris with 28 seconds left. After an empty Hawk offensive possession, a late Howard dunk by Shy Odom sealed the victory for the Bison.
 
 

 
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

The Hawks played the game without second leading scorer Devon Ellis.
 

With the loss, the Hawks are now 8-4 on at home this season.
 

Kelechi Okworogwo finished with a season-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks to lead the Hawks. Elijah Wilson finished with 16 points and Dionte Johnson added 14 points. No other Hawks had more than five points on the night.
 
 
Jordan Hairston led Howard with 19 points while Bryce Harris finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.


Howard had 37 rebounds to the Hawks' 24 rebounds. The Bison outscored the Hawks in second chance points, 17-6.


Two more MEAC games remain on the regular season for the Hawks (at Norfolk State, v. Delaware State). The MEAC Tournament begins on March 13 in Norfolk, Virginia.






COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH JASON CRAFTON


"Rebounding was the difference in tonight's game. Tonight was all about rebounding and finishing the play. Howard was better at that than we were tonight."


"We did a good job of shot selection tonight and taking better care of the ball. We played tough tonight but did not do enough to get the win tonight."


"Given the situation we faced with a limited lineup going into tonight, I am proud of the way we competed. We had guys like Kelechi (Okworogwo) and Elijah (Wilson) step up and make some big baskets for us. We have a tough turnaround with a road game on Monday at Norfolk State before coming home to face Delware State. We remain focused on preparing ourselves to be in the best possible position come the MEAC Tournament."

 
 

 
UP NEXT


The Hawks travel to Norfolk State on Monday night.