Hawks struggle in second half in Monday night's loss to Howard

SUMMARY
 
After claiming a two point lead at half, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks lost to a hot shooting Howard Bison team in a 77-57 loss on Monday night.

THE SCORE
 
Howard Bison (10-14; 5-2) - 77
 
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4-19; 0-7) - 57

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Opting to go with a smaller lineup, the speed of the Hawk defense held a high-powered Howard offense scoreless through the first five minutes of play and took the early 5-0 lead. HU responded with a 7-2 run capped off by a Marcus Dockery.
 
UMES responded with the next seven points capped off by a fastbreak layin by Ketron "KC" Shaw to give the Hawks a 14-7 lead at the 10 minute mark. Shaw threw down a dunk two possessions later off a pass from Evan Johnson and went on his own personal scoring run by knocking down his next two field goals as the Hawks went up 20-12 with under eight minutes to play.

UMES extended their lead up to ten, 26-16, after a three point play by Christopher Flippin. Howard hit seven of its final eight field goals to narrow the Hawk lead down to two, 34-32, by half.

Howard used a 8-1 run early in the second half to take its first lead of the game at the 17:01 mark. Cameron Shockley-Okeke hit a three ball to put the Bison up by five, 43-38, with just over 16 minutes remaining. Back-to-back baskets by Flippin brought UMES back to within one, 43-42, with 15:34 to play.

Shockley-Okeke knocked down his next two jumpers along with a free throw to put HU up, 49-42. Shaw continued to keep UMES in contention with a three point play at the 11:56 mark to cut the deficit down to six, 51-45.

The Bison went back up by double figures after makes from Anwar Gill and Shockley-Okeke to extend the lead to 59-49 with 7:56 to go. Dockery hit from outside after the media timeout to give HU a 13 point edge, 62-49. Back to back fastbreak layins by the Bison upped the deficit to 66-51 with 5:25 remaining.
 
The Hawks went scoreless for nearly three minutes until a Shaw free throw made the score 68-52 with 4:08 to play before a Blake Harper three pointer, a layin by Gill and a make by Dockery gave HU its largest lead, 75-52, with two minutes to go. HU cruised to the eventual 20-point victory while UMES dropped its eighth straight contest.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 
Howard shot over 50 percent from the field on Monday which included a 10-for-19 performance from three-point range.

KC Shaw led the Hawks with a game-high 25 points. Chris Flippin added 12 points and five rebounds.
 
Marcus Dockery and Cameron Shockley-Okeke led a balanced Bison offense with 18 points each. Blake Harper added 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

COMMENTS FROM COACH CLEO HILL, JR
 
"I thought Howard had a lot more energy and intensity in the second half. We let them get to their spots and they turned it up offensively. We did not do a good job of coverage in the second half. You can't let a team like Howard who has been shooting the ball incredibly well all year long get going."
 
"I did think our smaller lineup did some good things early on but Howard was able to adust and take advantage in the second half."

"It doesn't get any easier as we turn our focus to a good Norfolk State team. We will look at film tonight and tomorrow before getting back to practice on Wednesday to prepare for the Spartans."
 
NEXT GAME

The Hawks host Norfolk State on Saturday.