Men's Basketball | 12/2/2025 9:01:00 PM
Hawks drop Tuesday night tilt to East Carolina, 68-56
SUMMARY
GREENVILLE, North Carolina — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks were unable to overcome the efficient three point and free throw shooting of the East Carolina Pirates in a 68-56 loss on Tuesday.
THE SCORE
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4-7) - 56
East Carolina Pirates (3-5) - 68
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the hot shooting of Dorion Staples, the Hawks jumped out to a 12-4 start as the forward scored seven points while UMES shooters combined to make five staright baskets during the first five minutes of play. ECU responded with a 7-0 run to cut the Hawk lead down to one. A fastbreak dunk by Zion Obanla and a basket by Trey Brown ended the ECU run and put UMES back up by five with under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half.
ECU remained within striking distance and mounted a 7-0 run to take their first lead 23-21 capped off with a Vito Perkovic three-point play with 4:22 left in the half. The Pirates used a first half free throw performance of 10-for-13 from the line while UMES failed to attempt a free throw as ECU took a 32-26 lead into intermission
The Hawks did not attempt a free throw until a Michael Teal drive drew a foul on the Pirates with 14:29 left to play. Unable to convert on the attempts from the line, ECU scored on its next possession to go up by eight, 40-32. UMES went scoreless drought of over three minutes while ECU pushed its lead to 44-32 after a three point play by Isiah MBeng. A drive and layin by Justin Monden ended the UMES scoring drought but a three ball by Corey Caulker gave the Pirates its largest lead of the night, 49-36, with 10:42 to play.
MBeng converted another traditional three point play at the 10:11 mark to increase the ECU lead to 52-36. MBeng continued to have the hot hand with a three-pointer on the next possession. The Pirates extended the lead to twenty, 57-37, by the 8:25 mark after free throws from Perkovic. ECU remained in control down the stretch. UMES cut the ECU lead down to as many as 10 in the late stages of the ballgame after a midrange jumper from Mario Hanson Jr and a layin from Joseph before ECU dribbled out the clock to claim a 68-56 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
ECU converted eight of 17 attempts from the beyond the arc. UMES was four for 17 from three point range while being held to a zero-for-five rate in the second half.
UMES guard Michael Teal finished with season highs in points (10) and assists (5). Dorion Staples finished the game with 10 points. Hawk forward Mario Hanson, Jr. also had a season-high with nine points off the bench.
UMES has dropped four straight games to ECU dating back to the 2018-19 season.
UMES top scorer Joseph Locandro (12.3 ppg) was held scoreless in the first half and finished with six points on Tuesday. Locandro and Zion Obanla led UMES with five rebounds each.
ECU made 16 of 23 free throws while the Hawks made just seven trips to the line and made four attempts.
The Pirates were paced by Jordan Riley's 18 points and five assists. Isaiah MBeng added 14 points off the bench.
COMMENTS FROM COACH CLEO HILL, JR.
"I thought ECU did a great job of being aggressive throughout the night. They shot the ball well from the three point line and were able to draw fouls and convert on their free throws to build a lead on us."
"I liked what Dorion Staples did early on. He played well early on and showed that he could score in a vareity of ways. ECU did a good job of adjusting as the game went on. Dorion and many of our guys were unable to keep the momentum going."
"I don't think we did the best job of communicating tonight. I think we have some lineups that do very well in that area and sometimes we have groups that struggle. These non-conference games show us a lot about what we do well and what we can do better. Moving forward and preparing for American, I think we can do a better job in the areas of communication as well as re-estasblishing our effectiveness in the post."
NEXT UP
UMES travels to Washington, D.C. to play at American University on Saturday at 2 pm.