WINSTON-SALEM, NC – In a contest in which both teams struggled offensively, South Carolina State scored seven of the game's final nine points to earn a hard-fought 59-53 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore in the quarterfinals of t he Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at the Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum.
The third-seeded Bulldogs, who improved to 17-13 with the win, joined the SC State women in Friday's semifinals. Coach Tim Carter's team will meet Delaware State Friday at 8 p.m. The Lady Bulldogs will take the floor earlier, when Coach Doug Robertson's team, an upset winner over top-seeded North Carolina A&T on Wednesday -- meets fourth-seeded Howard, a 56-54 winner over Florida A&M Thursday.
In Thursday's victory, Bulldog senior Jason Flagler tossed in 20 points and grabbed six rebounds to extend his SC State career one more game. Transfer Darnell Porter had 16 points and five boards in the win, the second in as many meetings by SC State over the sixth-seeded Hawks, who made it to the quarterfinals with a 64-58 win Coppin State.
Arsenio Williams came off the bench for nine points and tied Flagler for rebounding honors with six for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs, who trailed 20-27 at the half after being out-rebounded 20-13 by UMES, chipped away at the Hawk lead and pulled even at 36-36 on a layup by Arsenio Williams, off a feed from Tyvon Williams, put in a layup and was fouled with 11:18 to play. The SC State senior missed the free throw, leaving the contest deadlocked.
Neal Pitt, the lone UMES senior, got inside for a short jumper as the Hawks regained the lead at 38-36 at the 10:46 mark.
The Bulldogs, who had not led since starting the game with an 11-6 run, grabbed the lead at 39-38 when Khalif Toombs nailed a 3-pointer with 8:43 on the clock, however Hillary Haley, who led UMES with 13 points, converted two free throws and Tim Burns added two more as the Hawks went ahead 42-39 with 7:47 to play.
A 3-pointer by SC State's Porter, off an assist from Arsenio Williams tied the contest at 42-all and the Bulldogs regained the lead, at 44-42, when Flagler got a short jumper with 6:1 to play.
UMES came back to tie at 44-all on a runner by Kevin White before the Bulldogs' Brandon Smalls, hit his only basket of the night, which came from behind the arc, to stake Carter's team to a 47-44 advantage at the 5:39 mark.
UMES closed the gap to one four times, the last at 54-53 when White, who had 10 points in the contest, drove the baseline for a layup with 2:13 left. But that would be the last points of the contest for Coach Frankie Allen's team as the Bulldogs scored the game's final five points, all from the charity stripe, for the final 59-53 margin and a chance to advance.
“We knew coming in it (the game) would be a war,” said the Bulldogs' Carter in the postgame news conference. “It was a tough game at their place earlier this year as we played only once during the regular season. So, we knew we would have a battle on our hands.
“It was not a pretty game,” he continued. “Neither team shot the ball well. We didn't shoot well, they didn't shoot well, but we battled all night. We never gave up and for the most part – except for some fouls down the stretch – we played smart.
“Due to our lack of size, we've had to fight, scratch and claw in order to win games. We are not very big inside so we have very little chance for error. We have to shoot the ball well in order to stay in ball games because we usually will get out-rebound.”
The Hawks' Allen said his team had its chances in the contest but praised SC State for its second-half comeback and play down the stretch.
“We had opportunities,” Allen said. “We played well in the first-half but give SC State credit. They came back in the second half to win a hard-fought game. We started the game with a lot of energy and overall gave a great effort, but they kind of imposed their will on us in the second half and down the stretch.”
UMES ended its season at 11-21.
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