Hornets Rout Cairn in Season Opener
DOVER, Del. - Senior Jordan Lawson led six Delaware State players in double figures with a career-high 15 points in the Hornets' 107-48 win over Cairn in the season opener in Memorial Hall Saturday evening.
The point total was Delaware State’s highest since a 109-87 win over UMES during the 19901-91 season. DSU’s 59-point margin of victory was also its biggest since a 104-41 victory over Cairn (then Philadelphia Biblical) on Nov. 23, 2011.
Lawson also tied for game-high honors with 10 rebounds to record his first career double-double.
Newcomers Kendal Williams and DeAndre Haywood added 14 points each for the Hornets. Williams, a Dover (Del.) High School product, also led all players with seven assists. He was five-for-six from the field, including two-of-two from three-point territory.
Kendall Gray had 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Tyshawn Bell and newcomer Mrdjan Gasevic contributed 10 points each for DSU.
Casey Walker tallied eight points and tied Lawson for game-high honors with 10 rebounds.
Thirteen of the 15 Hornets who appeared in the game scored at least three points.
Read the complete story at DSUHornets.com.
Johnson Leads Wildcats to 91-74 Win over Trinity Baptists
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ricky Johnson scored 22 points to lead five Bethune-Cookman players in double figures as the Wildcats downed Trinity Baptist 91-74 in their season opener Saturday afternoon.
Maurice Taylor added 15 points, Clemmye Owens and Mikel Trapp 12 each and Allan Dempster 10 as the Wildcats won their opener for the first time since 2010. The 91 points were the most the Wildcats have scored in a season opener since November 28, 1980, when Bethune-Cookman beat Florida A&M 100-86.
Trinity Christian (0-3) led 17-12 with 10:58 remaining on a Darrius Jones three-pointer, but the Wildcats rallied to take the lead at 23-21 on two Malik Jackson free throws with 7:31 remaining and opened up a 42-33 halftime lead.
Taylor scored all of his points in the second half as Bethune-Cookman gradually pulled away, taking its biggest at 82-61 on a Johnson 3-pointer with 4:43 remaining.
Dempster’s eight rebounds led B-CU’s 52-25 advantage on the boards. Troy Simmons was the lone Wildcat who didn’t score, but dished out seven assists.
Read more at BCUathletics.com.
Texas Southern Runs Past NSU
HOUSTON, Texas – Texas Southern’s offense was too much for the Norfolk State men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Tigers ran away to a 95-83 win over the Spartans at H&PE Arena.
A 33-point effort from Aaric Murray and 25 points from Jose Rodriguez helped the Tigers get past the Spartans in the season opener for both teams. Texas Southern shot better than 58 percent for the game, wasting an excellent offensive game from NSU’s Malcolm Hawkins.
The Spartan senior hit 9-of-16 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the free throw line for 32 points, becoming the first Norfolk State player to reach the 30-point plateau since January of 2011.
Senior Riley Maye was the only other NSU player in double figures with a career-high 15 points.
Read more at NSUSpartans.com.
Hawks upended by Columbia in Season Opener
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball team was upended in its season opener on Saturday night as the Hawks fell, 73-54, to Columbia University at Levien Gym. The Hawks had two players record double-digit tallies and controlled the glass in the first-half, but were unable to hold it together the entire game. The win proved to be the second for Columbia over UMES in the past four years.
UMES (0-1) was unable to tame a vicious three-point assault by Columbia (1-0) in the second half. The Lions made their first seven three-pointers of the frame as they used a 29-6 run to open the final period. The Hawks were in the game for the majority of the first-half, but the Lion three-point attack in the second proved to be too much for UMES to handle.
The Hawks fell behind to open the game as Columbia raced out to a 9-2 lead after six minutes of play. A three-pointer by junior guard KyRee Jones cut the deficit to four, but Columbia would go on its second consecutive 9-2 run to take an 18-7 lead with just over 10 left in the frame.
Jones would score five more points to complement baskets by senior Troy Snyder and freshman Devon Walker to spearhead a 9-0 Hawk run. The advantage brought the score to 18-16 over the next three minutes. Jones’ second three of the frame gave UMES its first lead, 23-21, at the 5:14 mark, before Columbia used a layup by Isaac Cohen to jumpstart a 10-3 run. The run pushed Columbia over the top as the Lions held a 31-26 lead at intermission.
Jones led all scorers with 15 points at the half, while Snyder brought down five boards and the Hawks were 10-of-24 from the floor.
The second half was a much different affair as the Lions came out of the gates on fire.
Read more at UMESHawks.com.