Mid-Eastern Athletic Notebook
by Amanda Breedlove
Bethune-Cookman: The Tigers of Bethune-Cookman have been busy playing some
top-ranked teams as they
prepare for the impending conference season. In the past week, the Tigers
have had tough match-ups
against No. 13 Florida and No. 23 Wake Forest. Bethune-Cookman
visited Florida
on December 28, and were beaten 99-64 thanks to the high-scoring of
Gators’ freshmen Matt
Walsh, who scored 29, and Anthony Roberson, who netted 22. The Tigers had
little time to pull it
together as they visited Wake Forest on December 30. Despite Richard
Touissant’s continuing outstanding
performances for Bethune-Cookman, (Touissant scored a game-high 25 points
against the Demon Deacons), the
Tigers suffered a 96-54 loss and fall to 1-6 on the season. Wake Forest,
undefeated this year,
improved to 8-0 and is also undefeated this year against MEAC teams.
The Tigers resume
play on January 6 against conference opponent Delaware State.
Coppin State: The Eagles will welcome conference play on January 4 against North Carolina A&T
after being roughed up by No. 12 Illinois on December 30. In the low-scoring
game in front of
a crowd of nearly 14,000, the Fighting
Illini dominated, winning 63-37 behind the 20-point contribution of senior
Brian Cook and a team
effort of 55.6 percent and 10-of-18 shooting from 3-point range. Coppin
State was led in scoring
by Larry Tucker, who scored 15 points. As the Eagles head toward play in the
conference, they
fall to 1-9 on the season and are 1-0 in MEAC action. That win comes from a
73-69 victory over
Morgan State on December 7 and as CSC faces A&T, it looks to break a
four-game losing streak.
Delaware State: The Hornets faltered against Rutgers in a 54-41 loss on
December 28, in which
Delaware State shot only 26.7 percent and committed 14 turnovers. The
Hornets’ Andre Matthews
led all scorers with 17 points in the game, while the Scarlet Knights’
leading scorer was Ricky
Shields with 14 points. The Knights’ Kareem Wright also scored eight points
and eight rebounds
in the win, tying his season highs. Delaware State will dive into the
conference season on
January 4 when hosting Florida A&M.
Florida A&M: In a reptilian match-up on December 30, the Florida A&M
Rattlers took on the No. 13 University of Florida Gators in front of a crowd of more than 8,500
fans. The Gators’ Matt
Bonner led all scorers in the game with 18 points and carried his team to a
91-58 thrashing of the
Rattlers. Florida A&M, led by Terrence Woods with 10 points in the game,
plunges to a 3-5 record
heading into its January 4 conference game against Delaware State. A&M is
0-1 against MEAC schools
this season after losing its opener to Bethune-Cookman on December 3.
Hampton: The Pirates played one of their most exciting games outside of
conference play when they
met the Ohio State Buckeyes on December 30. They led the Buckeyes for much
of the game, as the Pirates’
worked together to hold the lead, but the Buckeyes took over late in the
second half and triumphed
with a 70-62 win. Seniors Barry Hairston and Isaac Jefferson led Hampton
with nine points and
Ohio State’s Brent Darby netted a game-high 16. The Pirates, now 4-3, will
look to notch a
victory against Mid-Eastern opponent Maryland Eastern Shore on January 4.
Howard: A 72-62 win over Oral Roberts on December 29 broke a string of
losses for Howard, but
it could not put together a streak of wins as it lost its next game, 77-73, on
December 30 at the College
of Charleston. Though five Howard players scored in double-figures, it was
not enough to overcome
Charleston, which had four players score in double-figures and shot 11-of-26
from three-point range.
Howard, now 2-7, will get MEAC play against Hampton on January 6.
Maryland-Eastern Shore: The faltering Fighting Hawks, who have yet to record
a win this season,
came close to turning its season around on December 31 against Duquesne. In
a game that went into
overtime, Maryland-Eastern Shore was paced by the 21-point stylings of
junior Tee Trotter and an
18 point contribution from freshman Aaron Wellington, but could not surpass
the Dukes who had four
players score in double figures. The Dukes went on to win the game, 74-71 in
overtime despite
commiting 28 turnovers in the game. The Fighting Hawks are now 0-9 and look
to notch their first
win where it counts, against conference foe Hampton on January 4.
Morgan State: Morgan State, probably the busiest team over the Christmas
break, playing nine
games in the month of December, has lost three of its last four and is
struggling at 2-10 as it
hosts South Carolina State on January 4. The Bears will have to rebound
from a loss in its
last game, a 94-83 defeat by Texas Southern on December 28. Texas Southern’s
Ra’Kim Hollis scored
a sparkling 35 points in the win and is now averaging 20.8 points per game
for the Tigers. Picking
up the points for the Bears was junior Randy Dukes, who poured in 26.
North Carolina A&T: NC A&T has taken quite a beating after playing
back-to-back big-time
ACC schools. After losing 91-57 to the now No.2 Duke Blue Devils on
December 17, the Aggies
lost to Wake Forest, 104-64 on December 28. NC A&T, 1-6 overall, will make
an attempt at
recovery against conference opponent Coppin State on January 4.
Norfolk State: Carrying a two-game winning streak into their game against
Richmond on December
29, the Spartans looked to be in a good position to rack up another win. But
Norfolk State
could not pull it together, committing 20 turnovers, and lost the game 67-38, falling to 3-6 going
into January 6’s head-to-head challenge against MEAC foe Maryland Eastern
Shore.
South Carolina State: Thurman Zimmerman of SC State and Loyola Marymount’s
Andy Osborn both
scored 22 points for game-highs, but it was Loyola Marymount who earned the
victory, winning
74-69 over host South Carolina State on December 30. The Bulldogs are now
1-8 with a game against
Morgan State on the horizon. They will meet on January 4.
