Hawks top Binghamton, 63-52
SUMMARY
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks defeated Binghamton, 63-52, in the final game of the Queen City Classic in Buffalo, New York on Saturday.
THE SCORE
Maryland Eastern Shore (3-5) - 63
Binghamton Bearcats (2-5) - 52
HOW IT HAPPENED
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks jumped out to a 7-2 lead early thanks to baskets in the paint from
Zion Obanla and a three by
Joseph Locandro. Locandro continued to find the mark early on with another three pointer and a midrange finish as the Hawks led 18-10 at the 13:05 mark. Chistopher Flippin provided a spark off the bench with three conversions in the paint as UMES led by as many as 14 in the opening 20 minutes of play.
UMES went into intermission with a 36-23 lead. The Hawks converted 50% of their shot attempts (15-30) while holding a 14-2 edge in bench points and a 20-12 advtange in points in the paint. Obanla led UMES with 12 points while Locando and Flippin chipped in with eight points each.
UMES got off to a slow start offensively to start the second half, missing the their first six shot attempts. The Bearcats used the struggles from the Hawks to their advantage with a 9-0 run to shrink the UMES lead down to 36-32 before an Obanla drive and dunk broke the scoring drought at the 13:52 mark. A fastbreak layup by
Justin Monden and a three ball from
Trey Brown upped the UMES lead back to double-figures, 43-32, by the 11:33 mark. UMES extended the lead to as many as 17 before Binghamton battled back to narrow the deficit down to ten, 50-40, with 6:58 to go.
Bryson Wilson scored two baskets for Binghamton after the media timeout to bring the Bearcats back within six. Obanla ended the momentum for Binghamton once again with a drive followed by a Locandro three ball on the following possession to give UMES a 55-44 lead with 4:54 remaining. Locandro delivered big shots after the final media timeouts with a layup in the paint and another three pointer to extend the UMES lead to sixteen, 60-44, with 3:16 to go. UMES remained in control down the stretch and went on to the 11-point victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
UMES was led by the play of
Zion Obanla and
Joseph Locandro. Obanla scored 16 points and led the Hawks with nine rebounds. Locandro also finished with 16 points on an efficient six-of-nine from the field.
Led by eight points from
Christopher Flippin and
Trey Brown, the UMES bench outscored the Binghamton reserves, 24-6.
The Hawks were 25-of-55 from the field (45.5%) while Binghamton went 16-of-49 (32.7%).
Friday was the first meeting between the Hawks and Bearcats.
This weekend marks the return of the Queen City Classic MTE at Canisius. The Griffins last hosted the event during the 1973-1974 season.
COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR
"We did some good things and played extremely well in the second half. I thought we showed some poise and locked in defensively in the second half. We thought we had an advantage inside and were able to establish ourselves in the paint with guys like
Zion Obanla, Chris Flippin and Joe Locandro."
"Zion and Joe did an excellent job of scoring down low. I also thought Joe was excellent again from the perimeter and made the right pass when needed to help open up our offense."
"Our depth is one of our strengths. We are skilled at every position and we hope to wear down some teams late in the games. I like what our bench brings and we hope to continue that moving forward."
"We are getting ready to look at some film and start to lock in on our next opponent in Hampton at home on Tuesday."
UP NEXT
The Hawks return to Maryland to host Hampton on Tuesday night at 7 pm.
