 
|
Jan. 11, 2010
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Senior Neal Pitt (Fort Washington, Md.) recorded his first double-double of the season and the 11th of his career, but it wasn't enough as Winston-Salem State topped the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 75-70, Monday night at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center in front of 572 fans. Pitt, who recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds, joined teammates Tim Burns (Franklinville, N.J.), Hillary Haley (Oxon Hill, Md.) and Sean Berry (Irvington, N.J.) in the double-digit scoring column. Burns, a junior, led the game with 17 points and Haley, a redshirt sophomore, tallied 16. Berry, a freshman, nearly had his second double-double of the season with 10 points and nine rebounds. The loss marks the seventh straight for UMES and puts them at a 3-11 record on the season while WSSU improves to 4-9. The Hawks jumped out to a quick 7-2 start before the Rams made four straight free throws. A free throw by Berry and a basket by WSSU's Brandon Hobbs tied the game at eight apiece. An errant throw by the Rams caused one of their players to jump out of bounds, onto the scorer's table and tangle with game operations equipment. This forced a five-minute delay in the game as the officials and UMES staffers had to replace the now-broken timing system and fix scoreboard connections. Just over two minutes out of the delay, Haley nailed three-straight 3-pointers to put the Hawks up 17-14. Free throws by the Rams' Paul Davis and a basket by Marcus Wells tied the game once again, this time at 18-18. WSSU's defensive press gave UMES a few problems and two turnovers by junior Josh Bright (Salisbury, Md.) caused head coach Frankie Allen to call a 30-second timeout. Coming out of the timeout, free throws by Pitt, a fast-break basket by Burns and layup by Berry brought the Hawks to a tie and eventual lead at 26-24 with just under five minutes remaining in the half.
A dunk by Davis put the Rams up 31-30 and they would head into the halftime with a lead of 38-32. In the second half, WSSU would pull their lead to 15 at 50-35 before UMES would make a comeback. Starting with a steal by freshman James Cotton (Pocomoke, Md.) and subsequent fast-break layup for Burns, the Hawks would go on an 11-0 run to come within four of the Rams with under 10 minutes remaining. Baskets by WSSU's Davis and McIntoche Alcius put the Rams up once again by 11 at 57-46 before UMES continued the intense and physical play of the game to make another comeback. A missed 3-pointer for the Rams by Brian Fisher converted into a layup for Haley to bring the Hawks within four at 61-57 with just under five minutes remaining. A huge block by Haley against WSSU's Andrew Jackson and ensuing defensive rebound set up Berry for a layup on the offensive end to make things 69-66 at 1:37. Just over a minute later Pitt missed a 3-pointer, but grabbed his own rebound and put it back up to bring the Hawks back within three again, this time at 73-70. This was the closest UMES would get as free throws by Jackson and Corey Morris sealed the victory for the Rams at 75-70. WSSU was lead in scoring by Wells with 14 points. Davis had 12 of his own and neared a double-double with nine rebounds. The Hawks now travel south to take on Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla. on Saturday, Jan. 16 with tip at 7:30 p.m. |
|||||||||
| ||||||||||
