Terps Outlast Cold Shooting Eagles to End 2013
COLLEGE PARK, MD. – Trailing by eight at the end of the first half, North Carolina Central could not find the shooting touch on Tuesday afternoon against Maryland in their worst shooting performance of the year as the Terrapins outlasted the Eagles 70-56 in front of 9,554 fans inside the Comcast Center in the final game of 2013.
NCCU shot a meager 18-for-55 (32.7 percent) from-the-field on the day and went just 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) from deep in their second straight loss to end the month of December. The previous low took place in the season opener against Cincinnati where the Eagles shot 19-for-48 (39.6 percent) 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) from three-point range on Nov. 8.
It took a little over three minutes to put points on the board for either team in a tight-knight first half that saw the maroon and gray gain the lead on the ACC’s Terrapins on three occasions, Maryland took an 8-4 lead with 14:27 left on a bank-in three pointer by Dez Wells as the shot clock was winding down.
Senior Reggie Groves followed that up with the shot from beyond-the-arc to make it 8-7 with 13:55 left. Five minutes later Jeremy Ingram’s jumper with 8:02 left put the Eagles up 16-14, but the Terps answered with seven straight points to stretch the lead back out to five at 21-16.
With 3:15 to go, Jordan Parks pair of free throws made it 22-20 in favor of Maryland, and the Eagles managed to go scoreless down-the-stretch as the Terps took a 28-20 advantage into the locker room.
Read the complete story at NCCUEaglepride.com.
Standhardinger, Nevels Carry Hawai’i over NSU, 77-66
HONOLULU, Hawaii – Christian Standhardinger and Garrett Nevels combined for 50 points as Hawai’i pulled away from the Norfolk State men’s basketball team in the second half in a 77-66 victory over the Spartans on Monday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Norfolk State held a one-point advantage at the break, but Hawai’i began to take advantage of NSU’s struggle with the press in the second half. The Spartans committed 13 turnovers in the second stanza as the Rainbow Warriors outscored NSU by 12 after the intermission, 50-38.
Standhardinger had 29 points on 8-of-12 shooting for Hawai’i (10-3), including a 12-of-14 effort from the free throw line with eight rebounds. Nevels added 21 points and eight boards, as the duo combined for 50 of the team’s 77 points.
Seniors Malcolm Hawkins and Pendarvis Williams each scored 16 for NSU (8-6), which dropped its third in a row, all on the road. The Spartans were done in by a 20-10 margin in fouls, allowing the Rainbow Warriors to take more than twice as many attempts from the free throw line.
Hawai’i came out of the locker room and hit three straight 3-pointers to help build what eventually became a nine-point advantage, 43-34, not even five minutes into the second half. Nevels hit another trey to get the Rainbow Warriors to double digits.
Brandon Spearman’s layup gave Hawai’i a 14-point edge, 64-50, with 6:30 left, and NSU got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Read the full story at NSUSpartans.com.
UMES Falls to Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. – For the first time in eight years, Head Coach Frankie Allen returned to Cassell Coliseum, but a homecoming win was not in the cards, as the Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball team fell to Virginia Tech, 82-66, on New Year’s Eve. The game was seen before a national audience on ESPN3.
With the loss, UMES drops to 2-9 on the year, while Virginia Tech improves to 8-5.
The contest between the two was a tale of two halves. After falling behind by 23 in the first half, UMES came out with vengeance in the last frame, as the Hawks shot 42-percent to outscore Virginia Tech by seven in the final 20 minutes of action. The deficit proved to be too large for the Hawks to overcome, though, as Virginia Tech held on for the 16-point win. UMES turned the ball over just one time in the second-half and senior Troy Snyder had a season-high 15 points.
UMES jumped out to an early lead in the game as the men used a three by freshman Mark Blackmon and a free-throw by junior Ishaq Pitt to take a 4-2 lead two minutes into the game. Virginia Tech would go on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to race out to its first big lead against UMES.
Read the full story at UMESHawks.com.
Akron Outlasts Coppin State, 77-66
TOLEDO, Ohio – Four Coppin State men’s basketball players scored in double digits during its 77-66 setback to Akron Tuesday night at Savage Arena.
Coppin State (4-9) was led in scoring by senior forward Michael Murray, who scored 19 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field. Murray has been the Eagles leading scorer in six of the last seven games.
Senior guard Andre Armstrong scored 13 points, senior forward Charles Leans added 12 points and sophomore guard Sterling Smith contributed 11 points. It was the fourth time this season Coppin State has had at least four players score in double figures.
Read more at CoppinStateSports.com.