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BASKETBALL

NC State To Host Maryland Eastern Shore Saturday

After winning their season opener on Tuesday over Mount St. Mary’s NC State who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference will return to action on Saturday when they host Maryland Eastern Shore who is a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

NC State comes into the game with a record of 1-0 “according to https://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball while Maryland Eastern Shore comes into the game with a record of 0-1. “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball

As for NC State’s regular season opener they routed Mount St. Mary’s.

The NC State men's basketball team dominated the second half to break away from Mount St. Mary's and defeat the Mountaineers, 105-55, in the Pack's season-opener Tuesday night at PNC Arena.  “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

NC State (1-0) was led by redshirt senior Torin Dorn, who tallied a career-high 28 points off of 10 made field goals on the night. Markell Johnson was the Pack's second-leading scorer with 17 points, and C.J. Bryce (16 points) and Devon Daniels (10 points) joined them in double figures. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

NC State led by 10 at the half, 40-30, and the lead was still 10, 51-41, five minutes into the final period. From that point, the Pack outscored Mount St. Mary's 54-14, closing the game in commanding fashion. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

The Wolfpack dominated in the paint, outscoring the Mountaineers 52-26 in that category and collecting 52 rebounds on the night. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

Freshmen Jericole Hellems (3 points) and Ian Steere (4 points) each tallied the first collegiate points of their careers. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

The Mountaineers took an early 4-2 lead, their only lead of the outing, before the Pack responded with a 9-0 run. Mount St. Mary's drew things even on one other occasion in the early stages of the opening period, but NC State separated itself over the final seven minutes of the first half as the Pack scored 12 of its final 15 points of the half in the paint. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

NC State came out of the break hot, hitting seven of its first 11 shots to open the second half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

From the 12:25 mark to the 7:07 mark of the second period, NC State held Mount St. Mary's to a single basket while scoring eight field goals of its own to take a 77-48 lead. The Wolfpack ended the final 12:25 of the matchup outscoring the Mountaineers by a total of 46-9 as it went on to hit triple digits for the fourth time under head coach Kevin Keatts. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/11/6/mens-basketball-dorns-career-night-leads-pack-past-mountaineers-in-season-opener.aspx

As for Maryland Eastern Shore’s regular season opener, Unlike NC State who won their regular season opener Maryland Eastern Shore lost on the road to Georgetown.

The University of Maryland Eastern men's basketball team never let Georgetown University pull away, but the Hoyas were able to keep the Hawks at bay and get a 68-53 win in both team's season opener. Georgetown outscored the Hawks by 10 in the first half and five in the second half during their wire-to-wire win. “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

The overall length of the Hoyas bothered the Hawks throughout the game as they had seven blocks to just one for the Hawks. Georgetown's size did not translate to a major advantage on the glass though as they only held a 40-34 advantage on rebounds with the Hawks outrebounding the Hoyas on the offensive boards 10-7. Defensively, the Shore saw a lot success during the contest of as they had 13 steals and forced 19 turnovers. “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

"I am appreciative of how hard the guys played tonight," head coach Clifford Reed said. "We are trying to develop an identity and I think we are starting to do that." “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

Eastern Shore showed multiple defenses throughout that game that lead to their success on defense, but they went through offensive lulls at different points that hindered their ability to close the Hoyas lead. “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

The longest came after redshirt junior Dontae Caldwell (Santa Ana, CA) made a layup at the 9:24 mark of the first half to bring the Hawks within three at 18-15. The Shore would not score again until the 2:01 mark after missing nine consecutive field goals.”according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

Despite the size difference on the inside, the Hawks did do well attacking the paint as they finished with a 32-24 advantage on paint points. Eastern Shore also attempted 11 more shots than Georgetown at 63-52, but they made one less field goal overall and made five less shots from behind the arc. “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

"I like how we went inside strong during the game," Reed said. "But we do have to work on our overall discipline offensively as we go forward." “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

Forward AJ Cheeseman (Snellville, GA) led the Hawks with 19 points, with 15 of those coming in the second half. Cheeseman will be the Hawks primary interior scoring early in the season as fellow junior Isaac Taylor (Wachapreague, VA) tends to an upper-body injury. “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

"In the first half I wasn't able to really get going," Cheeseman said. "But at the half the coaches told me what I needed to do, so I listened and used my skills to play hard and create for myself and my teammates." “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

Another bright spot for the Hawks was junior point guard Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico). He finished with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Caldwell led the Hawks on the glass with eight rebounds. “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

Georgetown was led by freshman Josh Leblanc as he had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds on 4-4 shooting. He also had two blocks. Two other Hoyas, Jessie Govan and Jamorko Pickett, finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points respectively.”according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

"We played how we have been practicing from an intensity standpoint," Reed said. "We hustled and really got after it and did not concede a lot and I am happy with that." “according to https://easternshorehawks.com/news/2018/11/7/mens-basketball-hoyas-outlast-the-hawks-in-season-opener.aspx

Tip-off is set for 12:00pm from PNC Arena. The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network. “according to https://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball