March 12, 2008

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Hawks season came to a close with a 70-61 loss to Florida A&M University (FAMU) Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament at the RBC Center.

"I thought we did a poor job of executing in the first half, but we really stepped it up and picked up the intensity in the second half," said Interim Head Coach Meredith Smith. "In the final analysis we just didn't have enough to get it done."

UMES (4-28, 2-14 MEAC) made things interesting in the second half as they went on a 13-0 run that culminated with a Marc Davis (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.) lay-in to cut the lead to one, 37-36, with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, things would go south in a hurry as a Lamar Twitty shot from downtown broke the dry spell and sparked a 16-2 run by FAMU (15-16, 9-7 MEAC) that put the Rattlers up 53-39 with 6:36 left in the game.

A Leslie Robinson three-pointer on the ensuing possession gave the Rattlers their largest lead of the game at 15 points. Robinson who was the focal point of the UMES defense finished with 13 points.

"Anytime you have a prolific scorer like Robinson on the floor you have tend to shift a little more defensive focus towards him," said Smith. "Obviously, we wanted to try and take the ball out of his hands and have Florida A&M rely on someone else to score."

The Hawks would cut the lead to single digits, nine, on a pair of Davis free throws then again on a Jahmal Bivins (Baltimore, Md./Randallstown H.S.) foul shot with under two minutes to go. However, FAMU thwarted off any comeback attempt by capitalizing from the charity stripe down the stretch.

In a tightly contested first half, FAMU built a 10 point lead on an Akini Akini jumper, however; the Hawks would trim that margin to 22-17 after an Ed Tyson (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.) three-pointer with 4:34 remaining.

The Rattlers would respond with an eight point run that was sparked by a Larry Jackson layup to take a 32-17 lead into the break. FAMU outscored UMES in the paint (14-4) in the first half.

Tyson led all scorers with 28 points on four-of-eight shooting from the perimeter. Davis added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Omar Akram (Salisbury, Md./Baltimore International College) chipped in with eight points and five boards in his first career start. Aleksandar Popovic (Novi Sad, Serbia/Weatherford College) recorded two blocks in his return to action after missing two months with a right foot fracture. Popovic played just six minutes.

"I felt Tyson did all he could out there given the circumstances," said Smith. "All year long he was double and triple teamed which made it difficult for him to get off a clean shot. We could have benefited from someone else stepping up on a consistent basis."

FAMU was paced by Twitty who had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Akini was a force in the middle as he added 13 points, eight boards, and a game-high five blocks. Byron Taylor pitched in with nine points, seven rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.

Ironically, despite the loss UMES outshot FAMU from the field (37.5-36.7 percent), three-point range (35.7-28.6 percent), and the foul line (77.8-66.7 percent).

Both sides were relatively close in most categories with FAMU holding the advantage in rebounding (41-38), points in the paint (26-18), and second chance points (14-10). The Rattlers also committed fewer turnovers (14-11) but gave up more points off them (13-8).

The Hawks had two players compete in their final game for the maroon and grey, Bivins and Brandon Moore (Baltimore, Md./Southern H.S.). Bivins and Moore finished four and two points respectively, while both adding six rebounds. BJ Nimocks (Detroit, Mich./Cloud County C.C.), UMES' one true senior, did not play due to a broken nose he suffered in the regular season finale against Delaware State.

UMES now turns their attention toward the 2008-09 season as they open up in October with Hawk Hysteria.