NORFOLK, Va., (MEAC) — No. 5 seed Maryland Eastern Shore edged out the No. 4 seed Hampton 68-66 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament Quarterfinals at the Norfolk Scope Arena on Thursday night.
With less than a minute remaining, Hampton’s Devon Oakley tied the game on a fast-break layup, 66-66; thus, forcing the Hawks to call a timeout.
After a short break, Maryland Eastern Shore’s Logan McIntosh drove to the basket and was given a layup after a goaltending call, putting the Hawks ahead 68-66 with 12 ticks left. Shortly after, Hampton made a bucket as the buzzer sounded; however, the shot was waved off because time expired before the ball was released.
Maryland Eastern Shore (14-19) scored 38 points off the bench, led by Tyler Jones with a game-high 23 points. Bakari Copeland netted 17 points, while Ryan Andino added 11 points in the victory.
The Hawks shot just over 43 percent from the floor to Hampton’s 37.5 percent.
Maryland Eastern Shore scored nine unanswered to start the game and held a 15-point advantage at the 9:48 mark after a layup from Jones, 24-9.
Within the next five minutes, Hampton responded with a 13-4 run and sliced the margin down to six after a three-point play by AJ Astroth, 28-22.
As time dwindled in the first half, Hampton’s Jermaine Marrow made two free throws to cut the deficit to six; however, Maryland Eastern Shore’s Ryan Andino banked in a trey ball as time expired to give MDES a 40-31 halftime lead.
Marrow hit a three with 5:50 remaining in the second half to give the Pirates a 59-55 lead, capping a Pirates run that appeared to have the two-time defending tournament champions in position to advance.
But a trey from Andino kicked off an 11-2 spurt that let Maryland Eastern Shore regain control, however tenuous.
Hampton (14-16) outscored the Hawks in the second half, 35-28. Marrow produced a team-high 19 points, while Lawrence Cooks provided 13 points in a losing effort.
