Hawks unable to keep up with No. 23 Creighton

 
SUMMARY

Slow starts to begin the first and second half plagued the efforts of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in an 84-45 loss to No. 23 ranked Creighton University on Friday.

 
THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore (1-4) - 45
Creighton Blue Jays (2-1) - 84
 

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

 
The Hawks fell into an early 12-0 deficit before a Joe Locandro drive ended the Creighton run. A dunk by Christopher Flippin and a three ball by Trey Hall highlighted the early stages of Hawk offense but Creighton maintained a double-digit lead, 20-9, at the 11:31 mark. The hot start to the game by Creighton proved to be the difference for the majority of the half as UMES trailed 30-18 by the 3:42 mark.


Hawk guard Justin Monden hit a midrange shot while drawing the foul and making a free throw to bring UMES to within nine points with under two minutes left in the half. Creighton responded with five straight makes from the free throw line to take a 37-23 edge at intermission. The Blue Jays used a 10-0 advantage in offensive rebounding during the first 20 minutes of play and held an 8-0 lead in second chance points while CU sophomore Blake Harper led all players with 10 points. Flippin led UMES in the first half with six points.

 
The second half began similar to the first one with the Hawks unable to score until a Zion Obanla lay in at the 15:20 mark. While UMES struggled offensively, the Creighton lead ballooned to 25. Monden found some shooting rhythm for UMES midway through the half by knocking down four straight midrange jumpers but Creighton continued its offensive onslaught. The Blue Jays made 12 of their first 17 shot attempts to open the half and were in full control, 65-37, with 7:49 to go. Creighton led by as many as 41 and cruised to the 84-45 win.
 

 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

 
The Hawks are now 0-2 against Creighton. The teams faced each other during the 2017-2018 season in Omaha.

 
UMES guard Justin Monden scored a season-high 13 points. Monden was six-of-six from the field. Chris Flippin finished with eight points.

 
Creighton outrebounded the Hawks, 43-26 which included a 17-6 edge on the offensive end. UMES was also outscored 28-7 in points off turnovers.

 
Creighton's Blake Harper played in the MEAC for Howard University last season before transferring to the Blue Jays. He finished with 14 points and nine rebounds on Friday. Harper tied for a game-high in points with teammate Jason Green.
 
 

COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR


"We are able to execute at times but we need to do a better job of sharing the ball and making the right decisions during the crucial moments of games. Against the top teams like Creighton, any mistake is magnified. They did a great job on both ends of the floor and we will learn from playing a team like this."


"We continue to have some slow starts. It also happened at Nebraska earlier this week. We have to look at how we can be better to open games and starting the second half. We have played some teams who are excellent defensively but it has been a trend that we need to fix."

 
"I thought Justin (Monden) did a good job on both ends and was a highlight for us. He was able to get his midrange game going and did well playing off screens. He was quick enough and smart enough to deal with Creighton's attempt to trap him. He managed to get to the elbows which is an area he is really good at. We hope he can continue that going into the next game."

 
"We have to regroup. We'll have a practice and film session back in Maryland before we travel to face a very good Longwood program. We have to be ready to go on Tuesday night."



UP NEXT


The Hawks travel to Longwood in Farmville, Virginia on Tuesday.