Balanced scoring propels Hawks to 72-59 win at Coppin State


SUMMARY

Four players scored in double figures for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in a 72-59 road win over Coppin State on Monday night.


THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (6-23; 2-11) - 72

Coppin State Eagles (5-23; 3-10) - 59


HOW IT HAPPENED

Coppin State opened the game on a 7-0 run. Eight early points by UMES guard Evan Johnson brought the Hawks back within a possession of the lead and a three-point play by Hassan Perkins gave the Hawks its first lead of the night, 17-16, at the 13:22 mark. Perkins would go on to score nine points in the opening 20 minutes of play. UMES grabbed momentum late in the half with a 13-2 run capped off by a Jalen Ware dunk to take a 36-29 lead at intermission.

UMES never trailed in the second half. CSU trimmed the lead to three with 9:49 to go before the Hawks responded with a dunk by Christopher Flippin and a three-pointer by Kyrell Shaw to up their advantage to eight, 53-45. Cardell Bailey helped the Hawks take full control of the game by making his three attempts from beyond the arc and scoring 11 points in the span of three minutes to push the UMES lead to sixteen, 66-50, with under four minutes to go. 

UMES closed the game out by making all five attempts from the free throw line on their way to their first road win of the season.


BY THE NUMBERS

Evan Johnson led the Hawks with 17 points and three assists. Cardell Bailey recorded 16 points, three assists and three rebounds. Chris Flippin finished with a season-high 12 rebounds to go along with 12 points and two blocks. Hassan Perkins had 10 points and four assists.

UMES played Monday night's game without their top scorer in Ketron "KC" Shaw.

Monday night's win ended a 31 road game losing streak.

The Hawks shot a season best .875 from the free throw line (14-16).


COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR.

"Tonight was a total team effort. We had quite a few guys contribute to the win. Hassan (Perkins) and Cardell (Bailey) stepped and played well. Cardell has put together a string of good games as of late and is showing consistency. Evan Johnson continued to find ways to score and be impactful. Our energy on the court and on the bench was excellent."

"For us to finally get a road game while playing without one of our top players is huge for our confidence going forward. We continue to gear up for the upcoming conference tournament so to get a road in in the conference gives our guys a lift moving forward. Our goal over these last few weeks to establish good habits and attention to detail. I think we have been playing a better brand of basketball and we hope to keep it going."

"We have another quick turnaround and will begin preparing for the final regular season game at Delaware State. We expect a energetic atmosphere on Thursday and we have to be ready to compete."


NEXT GAME

The Hawks end the regular season on Thursday at Delaware State