Hawks fall to Georgia Tech in overtime, 56-52
SUMMARY
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks nearly pulled off an opening night upset over ACC opponent Georgia Tech, falling just short in overtime by a score of 56-52 on Monday night in Atlanta.
THE SCORE
Maryland Eastern Shore (0-1) - 52
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-0) - 56
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a opening night game, it took both teams time to find their mark offensively. Georgia Tech managed a modest 7-6 early on thanks to the post presence and scoring of 6'10 forward Mouhammad Sylla. UMES remained within striking distance thanks to 15 first half points from its bench. Australian forward
Joseph Locandro went three-for-three from the field for eight first half points while
Justin Monden chipped in with four points as UMES went into the break down, 21-18. Georgia Tech shooters went 37.5% from the field while UMES was just 24% in the opening 20 minutes.
Zion Obanla opened the UMES scoring in the second half with a reverse layin to spark a 10-0 run to propel the Hawks to a 30-21 lead.
A three pointer by freshman
Levi Beckwith with a minute to go and a midrange jumper by
Justin Monden at the 12 second mark helped the Hawks take a 46-45 lead. A foul call on a putback attempt by forward Peyton Marshall sent the seven footer to the free throw line with 1.7 seconds left. Marshall split on his free throws to send the game into extra time.
The two teams continued to battle into the final minute of the overtime period. A turnaround jumper from Locandro knotted the score at 52-52 with 51 seconds left. Georgia Tech answered with a three pointer by Kowacie Reeves Jr. to go up by three with 37 seconds remaining. After getting a defensive stop on the other end, Georgia Tech iced the game with a free throw by Sylla with two seconds left to go up by four.
BY THE NUMBERS
There were 11 lead changes and five ties in Monday night's game.
Joseph Locandro was impressive with 17 points, making seven of eight shots in 19 minutes of play in his UMES debut. He also led the Hawks with five rebounds.
Justin Monden finished with 10 points while logging 29 minutes of play primarily at the point guard position for the Hawks.
Mouhamed Sylla grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for Georgia Tech to go along with his team-high 14 points, two blocks and three steals.
Kowacie Reeves Jr. finished with 12 points and four assists to help Georgia Tech to the victory.
The Hawk reserves tallied 40 points compared to 14 from the Georgia Tech bench.
Georgia Tech held the advantage in points off turnovers (18-13), second chance points (17-10) and points in the paint (26-20).
COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR
"I appreciate the staff at Georgia Tech for the opportunity to open the season here. I thought it was an excellent test for our guys and we are able to see where we stand against an ACC opponent."
"I thought Georgia Tech's size was the difference tonight. They did a good job of finishing around the basket and creating extra opportunities with their length."
"Joe (Locandro) came to us from a Division II program and is an international player from Australia. I thought he showed that he can play on this level tonight. He is a tough guy with a high basketball IQ. I thought he did a good job of scoring inside and on the perimeter tonight."
"A game like this should serve as a motivator for us and give the guys some confidence moving forward. We have to get better at execution throughout the game and I think we will use this game as a learning experience."
UP NEXT
The Hawks remain in the Peach State for a Wednesday night matchup at Georgia starting at 7 pm.
