Hobbled Hawks fall to Delaware State, 73-66


SUMMARY

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks were up by nine midway through the second half before fading away down the stretch in a 73-66 loss to Delaware State on Saturday.


THE SCORE

Delaware State Hornets (10-10; 2-3) - 73
University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4-16; 0-4) - 66



HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hornets of Delaware State jumped out to an early 10-2 lead before three pointers by Kyrell Shaw and Jose Cuello helped bring UMES to within one possession, 16-13, by the 12 minute mark of the first half. Forward Christopher Flippin converted to three point plays on his way to 12 first half points while Ketron "KC" Shaw was effective at getting to the free throw line and efficient with a six-for-six performance for eight first half points as UMES took a 38-35 lead at intermission.

KC Shaw put up eight of the Hawks first 12 points of the second half. A three pointer from Trey Hall gave UMES its largest lead of the night, 53-44. with just over 12 minutes to play. With starting point guard Evan Johnson out of action and Flippin hobbled in the early stages of the second half, the shorthanded Hawks continued to tread through their short bench and maintaining a nine point edge at under six minutes to play. 

The Hawk lead quickly evaporated over a span of 90 seconds. Four UMES turnovers led to a 9-0 DSU run to tie the game, 63-63, at the 4:02 mark. Free throws from Muneer Newton and James Ponce put the Hornets up by four, 67-63. A midrange shot by Kaseem Watson upped the DSU lead to 69-63 with 1:12 to go. The only UMES field goal down the stretch came on a Kyrell Shaw three-pointer to narrow the gap down to three, 69-66, with 45 seconds left. Watson answered again on the other end for the Hornets with a layin and two free throws by Robert Smith sealed the game, 73-66.


BY THE NUMBERS

Delaware State was 25-of-54 from the field (46.3%) while the Hawks went 20-of-55 (36.4%)

Kaseem Watson led the Hornets with a game-high 21 points along with six rebounds. Three other DSU players finished with 13 points.

KC Shaw made 10-of-12 free throws and led the Hawks with 20 points. Before exiting the game with 15 minutes to play, Chris Flippin had 12 points for UMES in limited action.

DSU held a 36-22 edge in points in the paint.

UMES was outscored 18-9 in second chance points.



COMMENTS FROM COACH CLEO HILL, JR

"They did a good job in the paint and took advantage of their second chances. I thought they made big plays at the right times and we struggled to match it down the stretch."

"For us, the timing of the turnovers really hurt us. We have to do a better job of execution and making the right play in the key moments of games."

"Chris was huge for us in the first half. With him going down in the second half, it changed the way we played. We like to go to him inside and it definetly impacted us in the second half and down the stretch."

"We have to find a way to get healthier. We wanted to deliver a win tonight. There are some things I saw tonight that we can improve upon as we continue conference play."



NEXT UP

The Hawks travel to Morgan State on Saturday.