NCCU vs. Md. Eastern Shore Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
Three straight losses in conference play has dropped North Carolina Central University into a tie for eighth place in the league after seven contests with Norfolk State remaining undefeated at 8-0. The Eagles look to end the short skid against the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore who are currently 11th in the league with a 1-5 mark overall. This is the final home in the month of January for NCCU.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Maryland Eastern Shore have met 31 previous times in program history with the Hawks owning a slight advantage in the series with a 16-15 record against the Eagles. NCCU beat UMES last season in the only meeting between the two 67-61 in Durham, N.C. The first meeting took place on Dec. 9, 1954. The Eagles are 260-258 against MEAC opponents all-time.
THE NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
The NCCU Sports Network has announced that it will broadcast the home doubleheader on Monday, Jan. 30 against Maryland Eastern Shore on both a live video stream that is $8.95 per game and a live audio stream for fans to enjoy the action of MEAC basketball. On Monday evening tune in beginning 5:15 for Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. as Lady Eagles play-by-play voice, Paul Doherty, and former standout Danielle Johnson-Webb bring you live action between the Lady Eagles and the Lady Hawks, followed immediately with play-by-play voice, Chris Hooks, and hall-of-famer, Joe Simmons, for the men’s contest approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women’s game. To access either the video or audio stream, simply go to GameCentral on the main page of the website. The cost to watch the live video stream is $8.95 per game, while the live audio is free.
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE "HAWKS"
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore enters Monday’s conference affair with a 4-15 record overall, 1-5 in MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) play. After a 63-60 overtime victory on the road at Delaware State on Jan. 14, the Hawks have lost three straight like NCCU. Other than Saturday’s 91-66 loss to North Carolina A&T, UMES has been competitive in just about every league contest only falling by double figures in two contests. In the loss to A&T, UMES found itself down by 23 at the end of the first 20 minutes because the Hawks could not get the ball in the basket shooting just 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from the field, 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) from three-point range, while the host Aggies were a blistering 17-for-32 from the field (53.1 percent), hitting six three-pointers. In fact, with 17:27 left in the first half it was 7-4 in favor of NC A&T, when the Aggies went on a 23-5 run to to make it 30-9 with 8:33 left in the first frame. Junior guard Percy Woods ended the day with 16 points, while his teammate junior forward Mark Robertson contributed 11 points in the loss. UMES did recover offensively in the second half hitting 14 field goals but the damage was done in the contest. The Hawks are coached by Frankie Allen who is in his fourth season at the helm where he is 27-68 during his tenure, 250-361 in 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Allen has been a head coach at Howard (2000-05), Tennessee State University (1991-2000), and Virginia Tech (1987-1991). At TSU he won three Ohio Valley Conference regular season titles (1993, 1994, 1995), and two OVC Tournaments (1993, 1994). The Hawks are led by Woods in scoring as he sits 26th in the league averaging 10.3 points per contest. Woods and Pitt reside in the top 15 in assists with Woods averaging 3.2 assists per game (10th) as Pitt dishes 3.1 helpers per contest (12th). The 6-0 junior guard, Woods is also third in the MEAC in steals with 1.8 thefts per contest, 33 on the season. UMES has five players averaging six points or more (Ron Spencer-9.4 ppg, Louis Bell- 8.5 ppg, Hillary Haley- 8.3 ppg, Ishaq Pitt- 7.4 ppg, and Tyler Hines-6.7 ppg). Hines is the team’s top rebounded at 6.3 boards per game. On Jan. 21 against Florida A&M, Hines finished with a double-double 17 points and an astonishing 17 rebounds in the loss to the Rattlers. Haley was the lone representitive on the Preaseason All-MEAC team as the was place on the second team, marking the second time in-a-row the senior was recoginized by the league.
UP NEXT
Following Monday night’s matchup, the Eagles will make the trek down to the Sunshine State to begin the month of Febraury with the Saturday/Monday MEAC road swing against Florida A&M (Feb. 4-6:00 p.m.) and Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 6-7:30 p.m.).
