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Dec. 11, 2007
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) overcame a second half rally by Kennesaw State University (KSU) to end their eight-game losing streak with a 77-72 win on Tuesday night at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. "It feels great to get this win," said Interim Head Coach Meredith Smith. "I think the kids are just now fully recovered from the grueling road trip earlier this year. I think we played well at Old Dominion but we didn't get the inside play from [Popovic] and I think tonight we did get that. He had 17 rebounds and Marc Davis added 30 points, which were the keys to the win." UMES (2-9, 0-1 MEAC) seemed poised to runaway with the game after taking their largest lead of the night, 55-38, on a Davis jumper with 11:33 left in the game but the Owls would use three-point shooting led by Ronnell Wooten who finished 6-of-18, including five in the second half, to battle back. KSU (2-6) would cut the lead to single digits after Wooten converted on three free-throws. He followed with a three-pointer the next trip down the court to make it 59-53 with 6:07 remaining. After exchanging points over the next three and half minutes, the Hawks would take a 66-57 lead on a Davis lay-in with 2:45 left in the game. However, the Owls would respond with a Shuan Stegall three-pointer that would spark an eight-to-two run that cut the lead to three with just over two remaining. That was the closest the Owls would come however, as the Hawks made nine free-throws, including eight from freshman point guard Marc Davis (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.), to clinch the win. Davis finished 13-of-20 from the line and led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, while adding five rebounds and four assists.
"We wanted to run and get on the break," said Davis. "We felt like we were quicker than them and we could penetrate and hit shots or at least get to the line a lot, but I certainly didn't expect to get to the line 20 times." The Hawks did just that as they went to the line 16 more times than the Owls, 43-27, and also ended their 17 game drought of being out rebounded as they held a 46-40 advantage on the boards thanks to Aleksandar Popovic (Novi Sad, Serbia/Weatherford College) who finished with a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with seven points and two blocks. UMES could not have picked a better time to finish with their highest shooting percentage of the season (.460) as they came out red-hot in the first half making 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) to build a 42-29 halftime lead, while the defense did its part holding KSU to an opponent season low from the field (.313). Ed Tyson (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.) was nearly unstoppable in the first half, scoring 17 points to lead the way. He finished with 25 points on 9-of-20 (45 percent) shooting and also had a game-high three steals. BJ Nimocks (Detroit, Mich./Cloud County C.C.) added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Owls were led by Wooten who finished with 26 points and four rebounds. Stegall added 19 points, six rebounds, and a game-high six assists. Keonte Keith chipped in with 10 points, while Tanner Jacobs grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. "I think this game gives us a lot of positives to build on," said Smith. "We know Davis can score under pressure and [Popovic] can play well inside and rebound. Getting a lot of big teams out of the way, we feel battle-tested and feel like we can be successful from here on out." UMES will now travel to Staten Island, N.Y. for a game against Wagner College on Saturday, December 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 E.T. and can be heard on WTGM-AM 960 The Team or live on the internet at www.umeshawks.com. |
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