The UMES men's basketball team arrived late for the game at the Towson Center last night - and left early.
Overwhelmed by Towson's most efficient defensive effort in nearly 27 years, the Fighting Hawks were never in contention after the early moments of the second half and dropped a 65-40 decision in the Tigers' home opener.
UMES (0-5) managed only four second-half field goals until the final seconds, when Jermaul Akanbi tossed in a meaningless three-pointer at the buzzer.
Towson (2-3) had not held an opponent to 40 points since Jan. 29, 1976, when visiting Loyola played a semi-stall style.
Much of the credit belonged to senior guard Brian Allen, who blanketed the Hawks' hottest scorer, Tee Trotter, from the start.
Trotter, averaging 22.3 points entering the game, went 4-for-13 from the field, settled for 13 points and had difficulty getting any shots at all.
"Everytime I made a move, he was right there," said Trotter, son of the Hawks' coach. "He was all over me. And the big guys inside helped him a lot."
"Allen dogged him all night, dogged him right into cramps," said Thomas Trotter, referring to a five-minute stretch that Tee spent on the bench in pain. "Offensively, nobody could make shots, including Tee."
UMES shot 5-for-31 (16 percent) in the second half, and 25.8 percent for the game.
In their first outing in nine days, the Tigers were shaky at the beginning, and maybe nervous playing before the home crowd. They committed 12 first-half turnovers and had nine fewer shots than UMES, which managed to stay within 29-27 at the half.
"I knew the first home game we'd be anxious and maybe try too hard," said Towson coach Michael Hunt. "I expected us to turn it over some."
Those jitters disappeared after the opening two minutes of the second quarter. Towson unleashed a 12-0 run to break away from a 31-31 tie and was never challenged again.
After two losses in which the starting guards, Allen and Jamaal Gilchrist, combined for just eight Towson points, they had 30 between them last night.
"We know we have to work on that [scoring]," Allen said.
UMES-Wiggins 3-13 0-0 6, Joiner 1-7 0-0 3, Trotman 1-2 0-0 2, Trotter 4-13 4-4 13, Wellington 3-7 0-0 7, Horton 1-6 0-0 2, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 0-2 0-0 0, Akanbi 1-3 0-0 3, Socka 0-1 0-0 0, Rowel 2-7 0-2 4. Totals 16-62 4-6 40.
TOWSON-Dixon 1-1 2-3 4, Hamm 6-13 2-2 14, McCartney 2-6 0-0 4, Allen 5-8 2-2 12, Gilchrist 5-6 6-8 18, Petkunas 2-3 2-2 6, McSweeney 0-1 0-0 0, Goode 1-2 0-0 2, Warner 2-3 0-0 4, Dotson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 24-44 15-19 65.
Half: Towson, 29-27. 3-point goals: UMES 4-20 (Akanbi 1-2, Joiner 1-3, Horton 1-5, Wellington 1-5, Campbell 0-1, Wiggins 0-1, Rowel 0-3); T 2-7 (Gilchrist 2-3, Allen 0-1, Dotson 0-1, Hamm 0-2). Rebounds: UMES 35 (Wiggins 7); T 36 (Hamm 7).
Assists: UMES 9 (Wellington 3); T 19 (Gilchrist 6).
Total fouls: UMES 17, T 9. A: 740.