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Feb. 12, 2008
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Ed Tyson put on a show for a national television audience and the rest of the Hawks stepped up to play solid defense as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) toppled Hampton University 68-62 in what is arguably the biggest upset in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) this season. Tyson poured in 24 points while the under-sized and under-manned Hawks played with heart and out-rebounded the Pirates 41-24. Fresh off a win over Howard, the Hawks played with confidence in front of a crowd of almost 3,000 fans. They slowed down a Pirates team that likes to run and forced their own pace, forcing Hampton into long range shots and jumpers and then capturing the rebound, limiting second chance points. In fact, that is where UMES did the most damage. They limited Hampton on the boards despite being under-sized. Hampton's big men combined for less than 15 boards, while UMES, who had their tallest player in Brandon Moore at 6-9, seemed to get to every ball. Moore had seven caroms while the team's leading glass cleaner Denzel Jackson had nine. B.J. Nimocks, who earned the start, also had seven rebounds. The Hawks scored 22 points off of their second chances on 23 offensive boards while Hampton had just four second chance points and nine offensive boards. The Hawks had more offensive than defensive boards (18). "That was a great win," UMES coach Meredith Smith said. "The kids played tremendous defense. We talked about if we had a chance to win this game we had to rebound well, and that is exactly what we did." They got big points from a limited bench as well. Freshmen Ishmawiyl McFadden posted a career high 14 points while Jackson added eight and Marc Davis and Nimocks had seven each.
Tyson scored 11 of his 24 in the final 1:43 of play as UMES used and 11-4 run to seal the win. Much to everyone's surprise the 11th place Hawks stayed close with the #2 Pirates in the first half. Hampton posted a run toward the end of the first half that was 10-3 and pushed it to a 33-26 lead at the break. A 16-4 run late in the second half is where UMES would close the lead. They cut it to 53-52 and the crowd was alive with just under six minutes to play. Tyson sank a pair of free throws with 1:43 remaining that would give the Hawks the lead 59-58. He would steal the ensuing inbound pass and convert a lay-in to make it 61-58. From there UMES would push their lead to six twice, including the final margin 68-62. Hampton was led by Rashad West who had 19 points and Theo Smalling who had 11, nine in the first half. Smalling was the leading rebounder for Hampton with six. UMES had not beaten Hampton since the 1999-00 season when they won, 59-58 on the road. "It has been a long time since we beat Hampton," Smith said. "They are very well-coached so I think it is a testament to how focused and how well our kids are capable of playing when we play as a team." UMES now plans on tackling the Aggies of North Carolina A&T on Saturday, February 16 in a game slated for 4:00 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C. |
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