Jan. 28, 2005
Click here to listen to the women's game beginning at 2:00 pm Saturday
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The Women's Game
The UMES Lady Hawks hit the road for a quick one-game trip to battle the red-hot North Carolina A&T State Lady Aggies Saturday in Greensboro. The Lady Hawks, continuing a stretch of four MEAC games in eight days, come in at 5-11 (4-4 MEAC) after a disappointing 77-51 home loss to Coppin State Wednesday.
The Lady Aggies come in winners of three straight MEAC games following an 0-4 start in conference play (and 1-12 overall start). Saudia Roundtree's team is led by junior point guard Shareka Glover, last week's MEAC player of the week. Last season UMES took two of the three meetings from N.C. A&T, including a 79-61 win in the first round of the MEAC Tournament.
News and Notes
PG Erica Bennett has missed five of the Lady Hawks' last eight games (12/20-illness, 1/10-suspension, 1/17, 1/19, 1/26-ankle), and is questionable for Saturday's game. Without her the Lady Hawks are averaging 24.2 turnovers/game (with her 22.2 TO's/gm)...Freshman Kristi Veltkamp has scored in double-figures in seven of her past eight games (13.0 ppg) after failing to score more than nine points in any of her first eight games (4.3 ppg)...Walk-on Toni Kennedy is leading the Lady Hawks in scoring (10.3 ppg), but has struggled recently. She is shooting a combined 5-29 FG's (17%) the past 3 games...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 8 of its 11 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., 6-0 vs. Copp.). UMES then trailed at halftime of 6 of those 8 games.
Eagles Soar
The Coppin State Lady Hawks dominated most the game en route to a 77-51 victory over the Lady Hawks Wednesday night at the Hytche Center. Behind solid shooting from the field and the free-throw line, the Lady Eagles improved to 7-1 in the MEAC and 12-5 overall.
UMES (5-11, 4-4) jumped out to an early 6-0 start, but Coppin regrouped out of a timeout and went on a 11-0 run to take the lead for good. With a 17-13 advantage midway through the half, the Lady Eagles began another run, this time 20-4 run behind five straight possessions in which they scored three points. The run was capped by eight straight points from Rashida Suber to push Coppin State's lead to 20 points.
After the Lady Hawks started the second half by scoring five straight points to cut a 43-23 deficit down to 15 points, Coppin again responded to UMES' quick start with a 12-2 run of their own to build their largest lead of the evening.
Sherrie Tucker and Rashida Suber paced the Lady Eagles with 14 points, as four Coppin players placed in double-figures for the game. Kristi Veltcamp totaled 17 points to lead UMES, one point shy of her career high.
UMES Lady Hawks (5-11, 4-4 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
1/24 Morgan State* W 65-51
1/26 Coppin State* L 51-77
Upcoming Games:
Date Game Time
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 continues its stretch of four conference games in eight days with a road match-up with the North Carolina A&T State Aggies Saturday in Greensboro, NC. The Hawks (1-16) come in on a 14-game losing skid following home losses to Morgan State and Coppin State this week.
The Aggies (3-15, 2-5 MEAC), picked to finish 11th in the MEAC in the preseason poll, have been playing strong basketball of late following a 1-13 start, winning two of their last four, including home wins over Del State and Howard.
Scouting the Aggies
The North Carolina A&T Aggies (3-15, 2-5 MEAC), come into Saturday's contest on a two-game losing streak, following close road losses at FAMU and Bethune-Cookman (2 OT) last weekend. The team, which had won two straight MEAC games prior to last weekend, is now 2-5 in conference (tied for 9th place with Howard).
The Aggies, coached by second-year head man Jerry Eaves, finished 11th in the MEAC last season, but have already matched their total number of victories from a year ago (3-25). The team is led by super-sophomore Sean Booker, who tops N.C A&T in scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (4.1rpg). Senior Steven Koger is second in scoring (12.0 ppg).
The Hawks defeated the Aggies twice last season in two close contests, 52-50 Jan. 10th in Greensboro, then 65-58 Feb. 14th in Princess Anne.
News and Notes
The Hawks began the season 1-13 for the 2nd straight year, 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 1-6 at home)...The Hawks have struggled to score this season, averaging 56 points through 17 games. The team is shooting 38% from the field, 58% from the foul line and 28% 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.
Fly Eagles Fly
UMES battled first-place Coppin State tough for a half, but eventually fell 78-51 Wednesday at the Hytche Center. The Hawks (1-16, 0-8 MEAC) trailed Coppin (7-10, 7-1 MEAC) by only four at the half, but were outscored by 19 in the second half.
After hitting five of their first six three-point attempts, two by Ryan Leak and two by Aly Samabaly, UMES led 23-19 almost 12 minutes in. Darryl Proctor hit a jumper at 4:49 to give the Eagles a lead they would hold for the rest of the half, as they went into the locker room with a 31-27 advantage.
Coppin used a quick 9-0 spurt at the outset of the second half to take an 11-point lead, 40-29. The Hawks got back within six at 45-39, but the Eagles made another run, outscoring the Hawks 10-0 over the next five minutes to go ahead by 56-39.
The Hawks ended the game by missing five of their last field goals, helping the Eagles to a 78-55 win. Leak had a career-high 17 points to lead UMES, while Parham had his sixth double-double in eight games, adding 11 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Proctor paced four players in double figures for Coppin, scoring 24 points to go along with nine rebounds.
UMES HAWKS AT A GLANCE
Probable Starters
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG
3 Aly Samabaly G 6'3 200 Jr. 2.2 3.0
Scored season-high 8 pts (2-5 3's) vs. Coppin....Has started 10 straight games at point guard...Shooting only 12-56 FG's this season (21%), and 7-38 3's (18%)...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.
5 Corey Brown G 6'0 158 Jr. 10.0 2.3
Had 8 pts, 8 TO's, 5 assts, 5 rebs vs. Coppin...Scored 15 pts vs. Morgan 1/24 in first start since 1/8 (4 straight)...Averaging 4.4 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.
32 Ryan Leak G 6'4 185 Fr. 5.8 1.1
Scored career-high 17 pts (5-12 FG's, 5-11 FT's) vs. Coppin...Shooting 9-39 FG's (23%) combined the past six games...Has started 9 of past 13 games (0 starts in first 4 gms)...True freshman from Jamaica, NY, averaged 21 ppg for Bayside H.S. his senior season.
33 Jareem Dowling F 6'6 235 Sr. 8.1 4.8
Scored 3 pts (1-6 FG's) in 35 min vs. Coppin...Career-high 22 pts at Baylor 12/22...Shooting 31% in FG's this season (15-66 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. 10.9 7.5
Recorded 6th double-double in the last 8 games vs. Coppin with 11 pts and career-high 19 rebs...Averaging 15.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg the past 9 games, after averaging 6.4 ppg and 4.6 rpg the first 8 games...Career-high 21 pts at B-CC 1/10...One of two returning starters from `03-'04 (Jareem Dowling)...2003 transfer from Ellsworth C.C. (Iowa Falls, Ia).
Reserves
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG
15 Louis Brookins F 6'6 215 Fr. 2.7 1.0
In last 9 games, car-high 11 pts at NSU 1/19, but 5 total pts the other 8...Freshman from Silver Spring, Md., first recruit signed by Larry Lessett.
21 Shondale Robinson F 6'5 208 Jr. 2.2 1.9
Career-high 8 pts (3-5 FG's) in 14 min vs. Coppin...Already has scored 38 points this season (4 all last season)...Nicknamed "Texas"...Returnee from `03-'04, when he walked onto team in late December.
23 Anthony Davis F 6'3 190 So. 2.4 1.3
0 pts, 16 min past 2 gms...Car-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 0.2
Played in 9 games this season, total 16 min, 0 pts, 2 rebs, 2 FG attmpts...Transfer from Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL), did not play there.
30 Tal Cohen F 6'8 230 Fr. 1.6 1.0
Totaled 12 pts and 8 rebs the past 13 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, was leading Hawks in scoring...Career-high 20 pts vs. Howard 12/6...Returnee from `03-'04, played in only 9 games.
45 x-Jason McKinnon C 6'11 270 Sr. 7.3 4.9
Currently academically ineligible...Played only 13.3 mpg his last 4 games...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.
UMES Hawks (1-15, 0-7 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
1/24 Morgan State* L 60-80
1/26 Coppin State* L 55-78
Upcoming Games
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.
