Hawks drop season opener despite thirty point performance from Gardner


WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks narrowed the gap to seven late in in the second half before fading away in a 83-62 loss at Wake Forest in Monday night's season opener.


THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (0-1) - 62
Wake Forest Deamon Deacons (1-0) - 93


HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hawks trailed by as many as 14 in the first half but continued to battle led by the offensive prowess of reserve guard Bobby Gardner. Gardner, a transfer from Virginia Union, made his Hawk and NCAA Div. I debut by scoring 18 first half points as UMES narrowed the Wake Forect lead to seven by intermission, 40-37.

A three ball by Gardner to open the second stanza brought UMES to within four in the early stages of the second half but that would be as close as UMES managed to get to the Demon Deacons. Trailing by seven with ten minutes to go, UMES surrendered a 20-0 run as Wake Forest seized control, 78-51, with 3:40 remaining. A jumper by UMES forward Lucius Gibson-Savadel eneded the scoreless UMES drought with 3:09 remaining, From that point on, UMES never fully recovered in a 21-point loss.



BY THE NUMBERS


UMES guard Bobby Gardner made his NCAA Div. I and Hawk debut with a team best 30 points on Monday night. Gardner spent last season played at Virginia Union University.


UMES committed 18 turnovers compared to 11 from Wake Forest.


WF held a 44-22 edge in points scored in the paint.


UMES gave up a 31-6 edge in points scored off turnovers.


UMES held the advantage in second chance points, 13-2.



COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR.


"I thought we did some good things tonight. We were able to stay in the game and kept it close going into halftime. We hit a big three pointer to start the second half and I thought our energy was great. We made a few costly turnovers at some key moments in the second half. Wake Forest took advantage and made a big run that we weren't able to bounce back from. I thought some of our mistakes were early season miscues that are correctible and we feel we showed that we can compete. We will really focus on execution. When we were trailing by ten and in need of a big play or a big stop, we weren't able to come up with the big play which ultimately costed us."


"Bobby (Gardner) really shot the ball well and did some excellent things for us. As the game progressed, I thought Wake Forest did a great job of adjusting to him and forcing him to pass the ball. They gave him a lot more attention in the second half and he was forced to become more of a distributor. Overall, Bobby was excellent and we hope he'll continue to develop into both a scorer and distributor for us."


"I was proud of our poise, especially early on. Wake Forest was able to build an early double digit lead but we showed no panic in that moment. I thought guys stepped up like Isaiah Griffin, who was able to get to the foul line and make some plays for us."


"In these types of games, we really have to execute on every possession from the start to the finish. I think we showed that we can compete with a power four oppnent but to win these types of games, it is about attention to detail. Setting the screen to perfection, remaining locked in on defense throughout the shot clock, tracking down loose balls and really focusing on the small things will ultimately lead to a win."


"The next game at High Point will be a different style of play than tonight's game. We will go back to the film tonight to review what went well and what we need to do better. It is a short turnaround but we will be ready to face another tought opponent on Wednesday."


NEXT GAME

UMES plays at High Point on Wedneday at 7 pm before coming back to campus for the home opener against Cheyney on Saturday.