Jan. 21, 2009
Final Stats
DURHAM, N.C. - University of Maryland Eastern Shore snapped a 28-game losing streak on the road courtesy of a 73-58 victory at North Carolina Central University on Wednesday night inside McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium in Durham, N.C.
The visiting Hawks jumped out early and held on late to earn their first road win since March 3, 2007.
UMES (4-11) had four Hawks to net double figures, topped by junior forward Neal Pitt with a game-high 24 points. Freshman guard Jaime Boyer added 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds, sophomore guard Josh Bright contributed 14 points and five assists, and senior forward Gary Lee had 10 points and five boards.
NCCU (2-20) was paced by senior guard Bryan Ayala with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals. Ayala is now tied with Clifton Daye (1990-93) as the school's all-time leader in career steals with 172.
Sophomore guard Vincent Davis was the only other Eagle to score double digits, posting 17 points, six boards, four assists and a crowd-pleasing blocked shot.
With the score tied at 4-4 at 16:33, UMES went on a 27-6 tear, including 12 unanswered points to end the run at the 2:15 mark with the Hawks in control 31-10.
NCCU scored the last eight points of the first half to make the score 31-18 at intermission.
The host Eagles shot just 25.9 percent (7-for-27) from the field in the first half, compared to 42.9 percent shooting (12-for-28) by UMES.
The Hawks held a 49-31 cushion after a pair of free throws by Lee at 12:57 of the second stanza, but NCCU scored nine straight points to cut the deficit to single digits, 49-40, with 11:09 left to play.
The Eagles narrowed the gap even further when junior forward Tremain Holloway made the second of two free throws at 4:43 to make the score 59-52 in favor of the visitors.
UMES answered the challenge by going on a 7-3 run, capped by a three-pointer by Bright at 2:02, to open the lead to 66-53 and put the game out of reach.
NCCU finished the contest with a 36.4 percent shooting effort from the field (20-for-55), while the Hawks made 46.8 percent (29-for-62) from the floor. In eight home games this season, the Eagles have still not shot a better field goal percentage than its opposition.
NCCU returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 24, at Chicago State University starting at 7 p.m. (Central Time).
The game broadcast will be available on WRJD 1410 AM and www.NCCUEaglePride.com courtesy of the NCCU Sports Network. Chris Hooks will call the live action, beginning with "Eagle Gameday" at 6:45 p.m. (CT).
