Jan. 24, 2005
Click here to listen to the women's game beginning at 5:30 pm Monday
Click here to listen to the men's game beginning at approximately 7:30 pm Monday
Click here for complete women's game notes
Click here for complete men's game notes
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The Women's Game
The UMES Lady Hawks play their first home game in seven weeks as they battle the Morgan State Lady Bears Monday at the Hytche Center. The Lady Hawks, beginning a stretch of four MEAC games in eight days, come in at 4-10 (3-3 MEAC) after two disappointing road losses at Hampton and Norfolk State last week.
The Lady Bears, lead by third-year head coach Angelyne Brown, come into play in last place in the MEAC (1-5), one half game behind Bethune-Cookman (2-5) for 10th place. Morgan's program has struggled in recent years, having finished in last place the past three seasons. The team's lone conference victory came against B-CC Jan. 15th at home.
News and Notes
PG Erica Bennett has missed four of the Lady Hawks' last six games (12/20-illness, 1/10-suspension, 1/17+19-ankle sprain), and is questionable for Monday's game...Freshman Kristi Veltkamp had scored in double-figures in five straight games (12.8 ppg) before being held to just five at NSU. She had failed to score more than nine points in any of her first eight games...Walk-on Toni Kennedy is leading the Lady Hawks in scoring (10.6 ppg) and in three-pointers made (30-83 3's)...Octavia Thompson, the Lady Hawks leading returning scorer from last season, left the team due to personal reasons after the December 6th game. The senior was averaging 8.3 ppg in four games played this season...UMES has taken an early lead in 7 of its 10 losses (13-3 vs. Laf., 11-4 vs. Tow., 16-8 vs. LIU, 17-7 vs. Mia., 18-7 vs. Win., 13-8 vs. Tem, 12-7 at Hamp). UMES then trailed at halftime of 5 of those 7 games.
End of the Road (trip)
Norfolk State extended its winning streak to three straight last Wednesday, taking full advantage of a nine-day break to defeat the Lady Hawks, 63-46 at Echols Hall. UMES dropped its second road MEAC game in three days.
UMES (4-10, 3-3), playing in its sixth straight road game and second straight without starting point guard Erica Bennett, struggled from the floor, shooting only 29% and converted only 14 of 29 free throw opportunities. The Lady Hawks turned the ball over 35 times, two days after committing 34 turnovers in a loss at Hampton.
Norfolk State (3-10, 3-3), which lost its first ten games of the season, used 15 players and a relentless full-court press to keep the Lady Hawks off balanced the majority of the game. UMES committed 18 first-half turnovers and trailed by 11 at halftime, 34-23.
In the second half, the Lady Hawks shooting troubles continued as they missed their first six shots and saw the NSU lead swell to 17 points. UMES would get within six, 45-39 with under nine minutes remaining, but that was the closet they would get. Norfolk State pushed the lead to as many as 19 before winning by 17 points. Shalynn Leonard led three Spartan players in double-figures with 11 points.
UMES Lady Hawks (4-10, 3-3 MEAC)
2004-'05 Schedule:
Previous Games
Date Game Result
11/10 Wilm. Coll. (Ex) W 90-44
11/19 vs. Lafayette# L 44-60
11/20 at Eastern Michigan# L 52-80
11/23 Towson L 68-73
11/26 at LIU^ L 49-56
11/27 vs. Miami^ L 64-88
11/30 at Winthrop W 62-55
12/4 Delaware State* W 58-56
12/6 Howard* L 70-86
12/20 at Bucknell L 48-60
12/30 at Temple L 53-77
1/8 at Florida A&M* W 71-68 (OT)
1/10 at Beth-Cook.* W 67-55
1/17 at Hampton* L 46-51
1/19 at Norfolk St.* L 46-63
Upcoming Games:
Date Game Time
1/24 Morgan State* 5:30 pm
1/26 Coppin State* 5:30 pm
1/29 at N.C. A&T* 2:00 pm
1/31 vs. S. Car. St.* 5:30 pm
2/2 at American 7:00 pm
2/5 at Delaware St.* 2:00 pm
2/7 at Howard* 6:00 pm
2/12 Florida A&M* 2:00 pm
2/14 Beth-Cookman* 5:30 pm
2/19 Norfolk State* 2:00 pm
2/21 Hampton* 5:30 pm
2/26 at Coppin State* 5:30 pm
2/28 at Morgan State* 5:30 pm
3/7-12 MEAC Tourn. TBA
#=Eastern Michigan Eagle Classic
^=LIU Turkey Classic
*denotes MEAC conference game
The Men's Game
The UMES men's basketball team begins a stretch of four conference games in eight days with a home match-up against the Morgan State Bears Monday at the Hytche Center. The Hawks (1-14), playing their first MEAC home game since Dec. 6th, come in on a 12-game losing skid following a 74-56 loss at Norfolk State Wednesday.
The Bears (5-11, 3-3 MEAC), coached by Butch Beard, have won two straight conference games coming in following a five-game losing streak, and come into play in 5th place in the MEAC.
Scouting the Bears
The Morgan State Bears (5-11, 3-3 MEAC), come into Monday's contest on a two-game conference winning streak, following home wins against Bethune-Cookman and FAMU last weekend. The team, which also has a conference overtime home victory over S.C. St., is now 3-1 at home in the MEAC and 5-1 overall at Hill Field House (and 0-10 away from it).
The Bears, coached by former NBA player and head coach Butch Beard, finished 7th in the conference last season and were picked to place there again. Beard was MEAC coach of the year in `03-'04. Senior Sam Brand, one of the best shooters in the MEAC, leads Morgan State in scoring at 15.2 ppg. Fellow seniors Chris Grant (9.9 ppg) and Aaron Andrews (9.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg), a second-team preseason all-conference pick, help pace the Bears attack.
The Hawks and Bears split two exciting meetings last season, with UMES winning a surprising 85-72 decision in Princess Anne Jan. 27th, then Morgan taking a 93-89 win Mar. 1st in Baltimore, despite 65 second-half points by the Hawks.
News and Notes
The Hawks started the season 1-13 for the 2nd straight season, and 1-12 for the 3rd straight. After going 1-13 last season, the Hawks ran off wins in six of their next nine to improve to 7-16. In `02-'03, the team finished 5-23, and last season 8-21...UMES is allowing 82 ppg to its opponents this season, and has twice given up at least 100 points...The Hawks are 0-10 away from the Hytche Center this season (and 1-4 at home)...The Hawks have struggled to score this season, averaging 56 points through 15 games. The team is shooting 38% from the field thus far, and 27% from three-point range...The Hawks won their first game of the season in their third attempt (12/1 vs. UMBC). Last season, it took the Hawks nine games to record a victory (started 0-8)...The Hawks returned only five players from last season's team that finished 8-21 (6-12 MEAC). Gone from `03-'04 are all three coaches including head coach Thomas Trotter, leading scorer Tee Trotter, leading rebounder Javes Wiggins and leading three-point shooter Aaron Wellington.
Spartan Charge
The Hawks dropped their 12th straight game Wednesday, falling to the Norfolk State Spartans, 74-56 at Echols Hall. NSU opened the game on a 16-1 spurt and never looked back.
Norfolk State (7-7, 5-1), which won its fourth straight overall and fifth straight in conference, jumped out early behind three three-pointers and six UMES (1-14, 0-6) turnovers. Tim Parham recorded the Hawks' first basket with 12:37 left in the first half. The Hawks were able to creep with nine points at halftime, 34-25.
UMES still trailed by nine four minutes into the second half, when the Spartans began a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to push the lead to 20, 57-37. The Hawks countered with a 9-1 run, but with the score 58-46 NSU's Chakowby Hicks hit a deep three, then stole the ball and assisted on fast break lay-up to extend the lead to 17 with five minutes left.
Hicks finished with 12 points, seven assists and seven steals. Three other Spartans finished in double-figures, with Calvin Brown scoring a game-high 16, Ryan Grier 15 and Karandick Ogunride 14. UMES had three players in double-figures, led by Parham's 14. Freshmen Louis Brookins added a career-high 11 and Jareem Dowling 10.
UMES HAWKS AT A GLANCE
Probable Starters
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG
3 Aly Samabaly G 6'3 200 Jr. 1.7 3.0
Scored 0 pts, had 3 rebs in 23 min at Norfolk....Has started 8 straight games at point guard...Shooting only 8-48 FG's this season (17%), and 4-31 3's (13%)...Transfer from Duquesne, sat out entire `03-04 season...Played at St. Vincent/St. Mary HS in Ohio, where during junior and senior seasons he was a teammate of current NBA guard Lebron James.
32 Ryan Leak G 6'4 185 Fr. 4.8 1.1
Scored 0 pts (0-5 FG's) at Norfolk...Shooting 2-25 FG's combined the past four games...Has started 8 of past 11 games (4 straight)...Career-high 15 pts (14 in 2nd half) at Baylor 12/22...True freshman from Jamaica, NY, averaged 21 ppg for Bayside H.S. his senior season.
33 Jareem Dowling F 6'6 235 Sr. 8.5 4.9
Scored 10 pts (8-10 FT's), had 4 assts at Norfolk...Career-high 22 pts at Baylor 12/22...Shooting 32% in FG's this season (13-56 3's, 23%)...One of two returning starters from `03-'04 (Tim Parham)...2003 transfer from Cecil C.C. (Cecil, MD).
42 Tim Parham F 6'9 240 Jr. 10.3 6.3
Had 14 pts and 7 rebs at Norfolk...Averaging 14.9 ppg and 8.4 rpg the past 7 games (including four double-doubles)...19 pts, career-high 16 rebs at Hamp 1/17...Career-high 21 pts, 10 rebs at B-CC 1/10...One of two returning starters from `03-'04 (Jareem Dowling)...2003 transfer from Ellsworth C.C. (Iowa Falls, Ia).
45 Jason McKinnon C 6'11 270 Sr. 7.9 5.3
Had 4 pts and 4 rebs at Norfolk...Played only 43 min past 3 games (14.3 mpg)...Had career-highs 13 pts, 11 rebs vs. UMBC 12/1 (2nd career double-double)...Returnee from `03-'04, in which he started 9 of 29 games.
Reserves
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG
5 Corey Brown G 6'0 158 Jr. 9.8 2.1
Returned at Norfolk (9 pts) after DNP at Hamp 1/17 (violation of team rules)...Has not started since 1/8 (4 straight)...Averaging 4.1 TO's per game...Career-high 17 pts (5-6 3's) at TCU 12/21...2004 transfer from Mott C.C. (Flint, MI), won a JUCO national championship in `02-'03.
15 Louis Brookins F 6'6 215 Fr. 3.1 1.0
Career-high 11 pts at Norfolk after 5 pts total previous 6 games...Freshman from Silver Spring, Md., first recruit signed by Larry Lessett.
21 Shondale Robinson F 6'5 208 Jr. 1.9 1.7
Already has scored 28 points this season (4 all last season)...Career-high 6 pts off the bench at Va Tech 11/23...Nicknamed "Texas"...Returnee from `03-'04, when he walked onto team in late December.
23 Anthony Davis F 6'3 190 So. 2.7 1.5
Had 8 pts at Norfolk...Career-high 9 pts vs. UMBC 12/1...2004 transfer from Bunker Hill C.C. (Boston, MA), averaged 26 ppg there in `03-'04.
24 Stephen Kallman G 6'1 165 So. 0.0 0.3
Played in 7 games this season, total 12 min, 0 pts, 2 rebs, 0 FG attps...Transfer from Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL), did not play there.
30 Tal Cohen F 6'8 230 Fr. 1.7 1.1
Totaled 10 pts and 8 rebs the past 11 games in limited action...Freshman from Hadera, Israel, played on the Israeli Junior National Team while in the Israeli Army for three years.
44 x-Carl Pruitt F 6'7 215 Sr. 10.7 4.6
Academically ineligible to compete...Played 7 games this season, in which he was the Hawks leading average scorer...Career-high 20 pts vs. Howard 12/6...Returnee from `03-'04, played in only 9 games.
UMES Hawks (1-14, 0-6 MEAC)
2004-05 Schedule:
Previous Games
Date Game Result
11/13 Eliz City St. (Ex) L 59-74
11/19 at Fresno State L 42-83
11/23 at Virginia Tech L 50-102
12/1 UMBC W 69-62
12/4 Delaware State* L 55-65
12/6 Howard* L 68-88
12/11 Morehead State L 45-62
12/18 at Nicholls State L 66-100
12/21 at TCU L 53-93
12/22 at Baylor L 73-97
12/29 at Portland State L 44-89
1/8 at Florida A&M* L 68-93
1/10 at Beth-Cook.* L 58-61
1/14 Brown L 38-87
1/17 at Hampton* L 54-80
1/19 at Norfolk State* L 56-74
Upcoming Games
1/24 Morgan State* 7:30 pm
1/26 Coppin State* 7:30 pm
1/29 at N.C. A&T* 4:00 pm
1/31 S. Carolina St.* 7:30 pm
2/5 at Delaware St.* 4:00 pm
2/7 at Howard* 8:00 pm
2/12 Florida A&M* 4:00 pm
2/14 Beth-Cookman* 7:30 pm
2/19 Norfolk State* 4:00 pm
2/21 Hampton* 7:30 pm
2/26 at Coppin State* 7:30 pm
2/28 at Morgan State* 7:30 pm
3/7-12 MEAC Tourney TBA
*denotes MEAC conference game
Larry Lessett- Head Coach
Lawrence Lessett, Jr. is in his first year as head coach of the Hawks. While making his debut as a Division I head coach, he brings almost thirty years of coaching experience from the high school level through the professional ranks.
Lessett comes to Princess Anne after working for three years as a global scout for Magic Johnson International Basketball. Prior to that he served as head coach of the Magic City Snowbears of the International Basketball Association, where he coached the team to a franchise record in wins and a playoff appearance in his only season.
No stranger to the college ranks, Lessett has made several collegiate stops in his career, most recently as head basketball coach and athletic director of Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tennessee. He has also served as an assistant coach at Mercer University, De Anza College, Georgia Southwestern College, Georgia College, Santa Barbara City College, Western New Mexico University, Loyola Marymount University and Cal State University Northridge.
Lessett received a Bachelors degree in Physical Education from Cal State Northridge in 1983 and a Masters degree in Phys Ed and Health from Georgia College in 1991.
Assistant Coaches
Meredith Smith- Assistant Coach
Meredith Smith returns to his alma mater to serve as the first assistant men's basketball coach this season. He graduated from UMES, then Maryland State College, in 1975.
Smith became head coach of Southern High School in Baltimore City in 1978, a position he then held for 24 seasons. In that time he compiled a 414-145 record, giving him the second most victories in Baltimore City Public School history. Smith won 25 playoff games, including three Maryland State Championships (MPSSAA), two Maryland Scholastic Association Conference Championships and a Baltimore City Championship in 1999-2000.
In 1993 the Baltimore Sun named Smith their "Coach of the Year." Smith holds a Bachelors degree in Secondary and Physical Education from UMES and a Master's degree from Coppin State University.
Carl Thomas- Assistant Coach
Carl Thomas, a first-year men's assistant coach, joined the UMES program during the first week of January. Thomas comes to the Hawks less than a year removed from playing in the professional ranks.
While Thomas is holding his first coaching position, he has been in collegiate and professional basketball for almost two decades as a player. A former standout at Eastern Michigan University (1987-'91), Thomas spent much of his professional career in the Continental Basketball Association. He holds the career CBA record for the most times called up to the NBA (5).
Thomas played 68 games over three seasons in the NBA, including stints with the Sacramento Kings (1992), Cleveland Cavaliers (`97 + `98), Golden State Warriors (`98) and Orlando Magic (`98). He averaged 2.9 ppg.
