Hawks stung by Hornets in 65-57 road loss

 
SUMMARY
 
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks were unable to extend their winning streak in a 65-57 road loss at Delaware State on Saturday. The loss drops UMES to 4-1 In conference play and 8-14 overall.

 
THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (8-14; 4-1) – 57
Delaware State Hornets (6-15; 1-5) – 65

 
 
GAME BREAKDOWN

 
The Hawks opened the scoring on a Joseph Locandro layin and a midrange make from forward Zion Obanla. While the Hawks remained ahead in the early stages of the game, UMES disrupted the Delaware State offense as the Hornets missed their first six field goal attempts before making a layin with just under 12 minutes left in the half. Baskets by Justin Monden and Jaden Cooper helped UMES take a 10-8 lead at the 10:54 mark. DSU shooters woke up with two three point makes and a fastbreak dunk to jump ahead 15-12 by the 8:21 mark. A trio of Hornet three pointers in the order of Corey Perkins, Ademar Santos and Jalen St. Clair triggered a UMES timeout as the Hawks suddenly found themselves down 24-14 with 6:42 left in the opening half.

UMES responded with a 6-0 run. Free throws by Dorion Staples after the timeout slowed the DSU momentum. Jaden Cooper scored on the next UMES possession followed by a finish in the pain by Locandro to bring the Hawks to within four, 24-20, at the 4:35 mark. DSU added another three pointer from Perkins to bring the Hornet first half performance to five-for-five from beyond the arc. UMES battled back with baskets from Locandro and Staples but trailed 34-25 at half.
 
DSU gradually built their lead up to as many as sixteen, 56-40, by the midway point of the second half. UMES responded with a 6-0 run sparked by baskets from Obanla, Trey Brown and Monden to bring the deficit down to ten, 58-48, with 7:40 to play. After the media timeout, two more points from Obanla and free throws from Michael Teal brought the Hawks to within six with under five minutes to go.

A Monden make with time expiring on the shot clock brought UMES to within five, 59-54, with under two minutes on the clock. After Hornet free throws upped the DSU lead to eight, a old-fashioned three point play by Teal brought UMES back to within five with 1:06 to go. A Miles Webb dunk through traffic followed by free throws from Perkins would end the Hawks hopes as the Hornets went on to a 65-57 victory.

 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 
Zion Obanla led UMES with 15 points and eight rebounds. Joseph Locandro finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
 
Delaware State's bench outscored the UMES reserves, 37 to 15.
 
DSU made seven three pointers while UMES was unable to connect from beyond the arc.
 
Saturday's game was the first in-game action for the Hawks in 14 days due to weather forecasts and postponements.
 
UMES entered Saturday with a 4-0 record in MEAC play. It was the first time UMES had began MEAC play with a 4-0 mark since the 1973-74 season.
 
UMES entered Saturday ranked first in the MEAC in defensive efficiency and has held every conference opponent to 70 points or fewer.
 
 
 
 
QUOTES FROM UMES HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR

 
"Tonight was a tough road game with a intense atmosphere. I think Coach Stan Waterman and his team made the key plays to win the game and did an excellent job of maintaining a high level of energy throughout the contest. Our guys came out a little slow and when Delaware State started making shots, we did not do the best job of responding."

 
"I was happy that we showed the fight to get back into the game late but our execution and decision making in the last three to five minutes needs to be better. We just struggled to make the key defensive stop or grab the key loose ball when it mattered most. We will look at that and be ready to go on Monday."

 
"I think we have to continue to emphasize what we do well on the defensive end. We gave up too many easy looks tonight. We have to be more active and energetic for forty minutes. The MEAC is a league where you have to play with high energy and every night is a battle."


 
 
NEXT GAME
 
The Hawks continue MEAC play on the road on Monday night at North Carolina Central in Durham, North Carolina.