UMES comeback attempt falls short in overtime loss at Coppin State
 
 
SUMMARY

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks erased a 15 point second half deficit but ultimately fell in overtime to Coppin State, 71-66.
 

 
THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (8-20; 4-7) – 65
Coppin State Eagles (7-21; 5-6) - 71
 

 
 
GAME BREAKDOWN

 
Saturday's contest began with the two teams slowly easing their way into the game offensively. With 14:54 on the clock and Coppin State holding a 5-4 edge, UMES suddenly found itself down by double digits after a 15-1 run by the Eagles. Trailing 23-8 with 7:40 left in the opening half, a three pointer by Jaden Cooper helped spark the hopes of the Hawks. Cooper later converted a traditional three point play as the Hawks cut the CSU lead down to eight, 23-15, with 5:01 remaining in the half.

 
After four straight free throws by CSU, a drive by Maurio Hanson, Jr. and free throws from Maurice Vassel pulled UMES to within seven, 27-20, with under three minutes left until intermission. A Trey Brown three pointer at the 1:41 mark cut the lead down to five, 28-23. The Eagles added a three pointer from Hassan Perkins to close the half and took a eight point lead into the break.

 
UMES slowly chipped away at the Eagle lead as baskets from Zion Obanla and Maurice Vassel cut the deficit down to four, 41-37, by the 15 minute mark. CSU responded with a 11-0 run to regain control, 52-37. Down by 15 with under 10 minutes to go, guard Jaden Johnson hit from three point range coming out of a media timeout to help spark UMES. After to free throws from Michael Teal, UMES pulled to within ten, 54-44, with 8:04 to play. Teal made two more from the line to bring UMES to within single digits, 55-46, with 6:17 left in the game.

 
Maurice Vassel converted in the paint at the 5:25 mark to cut down the CSU lead to seven. A three pointer followed by a layup from Cooper brought UMES to within two points by the four minute mark. The Hawks finally tied the game up with under a minute to go with two free throws from Obanla.

 
Coppin State's  Khalil Horton drew a foul on the other end in three point range and calmly knocked down all three free throws to put the Eagles up 60-57 with 28 seconds to play in regulation. After a missed first attempt to tie, a rebound and quick timeout by Justin Monden gave UMES one more chance to tie up the contest. It would end up being Monden sending the game into extra time as the junior guard drew a CSU foul beyond the arc and hit all three free throws with 0.2 seconds left.

 
In a back and forth overtime and with the score tied at 65-65, a Hassan Perkins layup put the Eagles up by two with under 50 seconds on the clock. After an empty offensive possession by the Hawks, UMES was forced to foul. Torrin Andrews made both free throws to make it a two possession game with 15 seconds left. The Eagles added two more free throws by way of Horton to go on to beat the Hawks by six, 71-65.
 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

 
UMES trailed by as many as 15 in the second half.

 
The CSU bench outscored the UMES reserves, 38-16.

 
Jaden Cooper led UMES with a game-high 17 points. Zion Obanla added 14 points and six rebounds.

 
UMES committed 21 turnovers in the loss.

 
CSU was paced by 13 point performances from Demariontay Hall and Hussain Williams. Taj Thweatt added 10 points.

 
Saturday's result is the seventh straight loss for UMES. The Hawks began conference play with a 4-0 record before experiencing the current losing streak.
 
 
 
 
 
QUOTES FROM UMES HEAD COACH CLEO HILL, JR
 

"I thought Coppin State played very well. They had the energy being at home and jumped ahead early. I do think we did a good job of maintaining our composure and battling back. I thought we had some good contributions from a variety of guys but we did not execute down the stretch in overtime."

 
"We had some foul trouble tonight but I think we are deep enough to manage these types of games. We have quite a few guys who can play different positions. We actually had some good minutes from our smaller lineup of Jaden Cooper, Michael Teal and Justin Monden at the guard positions with Zion Obanla and Dorion Staples upfront."

 
"There are a couple of positives we take away from tonight. First and foremost, I am proud of the way we fought back. I also thought we did a good job of switching on defense and communicating. Maurice Vassel gave us some good minutes and we were able to get Levi Beckwith some minutes after he missed the previous five games."

 
"We look forward to getting back to playing at home next weekend in the Hytche Center. We get to play infront of the students and fans and we look forward to their support against South Carolina State. We will review the film from the first time we played and reiterate some of the positives things we did tonight to prepare for the next game."

 
 
 
NEXT GAME

 
The Hawks continue MEAC play at home next Saturday against South Carolina State.