GAME NOTES: #NCCUMBB vs Maryland Eastern Shore (Dec. 5, 2015)

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON
North Carolina Central (2-4, 0-0 MEAC, 2-0 Home)
vs.
Maryland Eastern Shore (1-5, 0-0 MEAC, 0-4 Road)
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 – 4:00 p.m.
McDougald-McLendon Arena (3,116) – Durham, N.C.
Video/Audio: NCCUEaglePride.com
 
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE GAME: NCCU enters Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play as it hosts Maryland Eastern Shore before Howard comes in on Dec. 7.  This is the first conference meeting in Durham between these two teams since NCCU reclassified to Division I.  NCCU has won 31 consecutive games against conference opponents, including 16 straight inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS:
-Maryland Eastern Shore went 18-15 last season and finished with an 11-5 record within the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.  The Hawks finished third in the conference, and were defeated by eventual tournament champion Hampton in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Basketball Championships.
-The Hawks feature the Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year from the 2014-15 season in Bobby Collins and Ryan Andino (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) respectively.  This season, Dominique Elliott (Savannah, Ga.) and Devin Martin (Baltimore, Md.) were both named to preseason All-MEAC teams.
-Maryland Eastern Shore last visited Georgetown where it fell 68-49 on Dec. 1.  Andino contributed 16 points, followed by Martin with 12 and Elliott with 11.  Martin currently leads UMES in scoring with 14.0 points per contest while Elliott and Bakari Copeland (Decatur, Ga.) split rebounding duties with 5.8 boards per game each.
 
SERIES: NCCU currently holds a 20-16 all time series record against UMES, and are 3-1 in the Division I era.  NCCU has won the last three meetings with a 68-63 victory in Princess Anne, Md. last time around.  These two teams haven't met in Durham since Jan. 10, 2011 where the Eagles began the current three-game win streak with a 67-61 decision.
 
NCCU vs. MEAC: Now that NCCU is back and established in the conference that it helped start back in 1970, the Eagles are 317-265 against MEAC opponents all-time.
Bethune-Cookman................ 8-4
Coppin State......................... 8-3
Delaware State.................. 19-14
Florida A&M........................ 11-2
Hampton........................... 46-31
Howard............................. 40-26
Maryland Eastern Shore..... 20-16
Morgan State..................... 48-40
Norfolk State..................... 11-27
North Carolina A&T............ 71-75
Savannah State.................... 10-8
South Carolina State......... 27-19