Hawks show fight in 77-70 MEAC opening round loss to top-seeded Norfolk State
 
 
SUMMARY

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks battled and nearly came up with an early round upset before falling, 77-70, to top seeded Norfolk State in Wednesday's opening round of the MEAC Tournament.
 

THE SCORE
 
No. 8 Seed | Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks – 70
No. 1 Seed | Norfolk State Spartans - 77
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hawks began the game trying to find their rhythm as UMES shooters combined to make just three of their first 14 shot attempts. A 18-0 run by the Spartans but the Hawks in an early 24-7 hole before a timeout by UMES head coach Cleo Hills, Jr. with just over eight minutes left in the first half.
 
A basket by Christopher Flippin the paint finally broke the UMES scoring drought with 7:24 left in the half. Evan Johnson helped cut the NSU lead down to seven with back-to-back makes and a dish to an open Ketron "KC" Shaw for a three ball.
 
With under four minutes left in the half, NSU forward Kuluel Mading scored four straight times down the floor. Three balls by Johnson and Shaw kept the Hawks within striking distance at the half, 38-26.
 
Johnson's three-point shooting coupled with timely baskets from Shaw and Flippin bring UMES to within eight point, 58-50, with under 10 minutes to go. Back-to-back makes by Jalen Myers upped the Spartan edge to twelve, 62-50.
 
Maintaining a double digit lead, 69-58, with 4:20 to play, NSU's Chris Fields knocked down a shot from beyond the arc from the corner to extend the Spartan lead to 14. A drive by Cardell Bailey followed by a two free throws by Flippin brought UMES back to within single digits, 72-62, with 2:24 remaining.
 
UMES was unable to make a significant run in the final 140 seconds. Johnson made to free throws with just under a minute to go to make the score, 73-64. Johnson hit again from three point range at the 45 second mark bring UMES to within two possessions, 73-67. After NSU split a pair of free throws, Hassan Perkins hit another three pointer for the Hawks to narrow the Spartan lead to five, 75-50, with 40 seconds left. UMES forced a turnover on the next possession but came up empty on the offensive end. With 18 seconds remaining, Myers knocked down two free throws to seal the win and avoid the first round upset.
 
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 
UMES was nine of 18 from the free throw line (50%) while NSU converted 16 of 21 free throws (76.2%).
 
UMES converted 11 of 25 three point attempts in the game.
 
UMES guard Evan Johnson led the Hawks with 22 points. KC Shaw had 18 points and four assists while Chris Flippin finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Cardell Bailey added 12 points in the final game of the season.
 
Jalen Myers led NSU with 22 points and six rebounds.
 

 
COMMENTS FROM COACH CLEO HILL, JR
 
"I congratulate Coach Rob Jones and the Norfolk State Spartans. They played a great game and I give them a lot of credit for the success they have had all year. They took care of business tonight as the top seed and we did not make enough plays to come out on top."
 
"I was pleased with our offensive execution tonight. We were able to do some things better tonight than we have done all season long. We took care of the ball and had our best assist game of the season. I was happy with the way we moved the ball."
 
"We lost the game in the paint. I thought our execution defensively is where we faltered. They had 44 points in the paint and we did not have an answer for that."
 
"Despite the loss, I thought tonight's experience at the MEAC Tournament is good for our program. All of us where new to the MEAC this year so to experience the league and the atmosphere is something we enjoyed and will be looking forward to next season."
 
"We learned a lot throughout this season. We will be better for having experienced a challenging season this year. We are recruiting and will continue to improve our roster and develop our program in order to successfully compete in the conference."