Welcome and thanks for stopping by my weekly column dedicated to UMES athletics, in particular the men’s and women’s basketball programs. This will be your one-stop-shop for all the behind the scenes information that doesn’t make the previews/recaps that our sports information guru’s post before/after each game. I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please email me at umesbroadcast@gmail.com. Talk to you on the radio soon!
Did that Happen?: I’ll start each week by throwing out something that I’m really puzzled by. I was sitting courtside at Memorial Hall in Dover on Saturday broadcasting the UMES men’s basketball game when Dishawn Bradshaw drove down the right lane line and was fouled hard by Casey Walker. Then, I faintly heard Frankie Allen say to G. Jamal Brown, “that’s our first trip to the line.” The head coach was as shocked as I was. It took the Hawks exactly 29 minutes and 51 seconds to earn a trip to the free throw line. They didn’t shoot their first free throws until 10:09 left in the SECOND HALF. I have never seen that before. Believe it or not, UMES actually shot more free throws than Del. State (10 to 9). Only 24 total fouls were called in the game. For comparison, in the Hawks game against Navy, there were 41 fouls called.
Trivia time: Ok, who is ready for some trivia? When is the last time the women’s basketball team beat a team that hails from the great state of New York (either at home or on the road)?
Shout out of the Week: My shout out of the week goes to the UMES students, fans and supporters that made the haul across Route 13 to Memorial Hall for the men’s game on Saturday night. Even with my headset on, there were numerous times when I could hear “defense” chants echoing through Memorial Hall when Delaware State had possession. I saw many familiar faces in attendance including AD Keith Davidson and several members of the women’s basketball team including Amber Cook, Chelsea Sanders, Bria Jackson and Casey Morton. The support is awesome and definitely noticed.
Road Trip Happenings: Each week, I’ll provide some road trip insight. Our destination last week was Syracuse, N.Y. with the Lady Hawks. The departure time left most of us with bags under our eyes (how does 5:30 a.m. sound to you?). The trip up to central N.Y. was easy, especially when the best bus driver in America (Mo) is behind the steering wheel. On Tuesday night, we all had a chance to catch the Syracuse men’s basketball game against Cornell. We sat in the upper deck of the Carrier Dome and watched the ‘Cuse win. It was neat to see former UMES men’s basketball assistant Mike Blaine in action again. Coach Blaine is now an assistant at Cornell. The following day was gameday (Wednesday). We hopped on the bus for shootaround late in the morning and it wasn’t snowing. We left shootaround an hour later and it was snowing (welcome to Syracuse, I guess). The Lady Hawks showed a lot of grit to hang tight with the ‘Cuse. Remember, they were only down 17-14 at the 11:46 mark in the first half. Also remember that Syracuse has dominated teams this year. They beat Delaware State recently by 70 points if that gives you some perspective. After six games, Syracuse is winning by an average margin of 38.7. UMES lost by 23.
Number(s) of the Week: I have two this week, one of the men and one for the women. 22: The number of offensive rebounds that hard-nosed Hines (Tyler) has pulled down so far this season. He ranks fourth in the MEAC in total offensive rebounds. For the women, 85: The number of wins Fred Batchelor is eyeing with one more win. He has accumulated 84 (through 4 games this year) in his seven years at UMES, the most of any women’s basketball coach in program history. Kudos to a great coach and an even better person; just ask his players.
Birthday Fun: Caitlyn Dillard of the women’s basketball team celebrated her 22nd birthday in style on Dec. 1. She had the chance to play at the Carrier Dome. Caitlyn went to Cayuga C.C., which is in Auburn, N.Y. (less than 30 miles from Syracuse). After the game, this is what Caitlyn told the Auburn Pub about the experience: “I felt I had a big opportunity to play where I dreamed of playing,” Dillard said. “It’s amazing to finally get on this court and play against Syracuse.” The next day when we returned, Caitlyn was our guest on the “Coaches Corner” radio show live from Peaky’s restaurant (I must admit that it was coach Whitley’s idea to bring the birthday girl on the show). She did a great job on the show and even got a birthday cake courtesy of Peaky’s.
Five Stars: I’ll hand out my stars of the week. For the men, it’s probably easy to just pick Hillary Haley for his 32 point gem against Navy and his team high 16 vs. Delaware State, so I’m going in a different direction (sorry Hillary). The men’s recipient of this coveted prize is Mark Robertson. After playing a grand total of seven minutes against American, Kean and NIU combined, Robertson stepped up big against both Navy and DSU. Against the ‘Mids, he played 20 minutes and tied his career high with six rebounds. The real testament to Robertson against Navy is this: He checked in at the 15:47 mark in the first half and the Hawks were up two points. When he was subbed out (8:36), they were up seven. ‘Nuf said. Against DSU, Robertson had a season high 11 points and hit three 3-pointers. Let’s go deeper. Robertson checks in at the 10:42 mark in the first half and DSU is up 13-10. He was subbed out at the 5:03 mark and UMES was up 23-18 (seven point swing). ‘Nuf said. For the women, my star of the week goes to Amber Cook. She’s just so efficient in every area. Cook had 11 points, three steals, two rebounds, an assist and countless hustle plays that don’t make the boxscore. I didn’t realize this at the time, but Cook scored 9 of the first 11 UMES points. ‘Nuf said.
1 for the Road: As I bid you farewell this week, here is something to look forward to. The UMES men’s team is playing ODU on Thursday. One of ODU’s stars is Ben Finney. He is third on the team in scoring (11.7) and second in rebounding (6.4). Does his last name ring a bell? It should, he is the older brother of Sha-Kiyla Finney of the UMES women’s basketball team. We’ll see how the Hawks handle Finney.
Trivia Answer: November 17, 2007 when the Hawks dumped Niagara University 67-60 at the Hytche Athletic Center. Tiffany Reid led the Hawks with 17 points. April McBride had 16 and Casey Morton had 12 points. Since that game, the Lady Hawks have lost 11 straight games against teams from N.Y. Let’s hope the trivia question is no longer worthy after Wednesday’s game against Long Island.
If you have any questions for me, please feel free to contact me at umesbroadcast@gmail.com.
This week’s broadcast schedule:
Monday – Women’s basketball vs. Manhattan
Wednesday - Women’s basketball vs. Long Island
Thursday – Men’s basketball @ ODU
Saturday – Men’s basketball @ Evansville
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