HAWKS DOWN HARFORD FOR FIRST CONFERENCE WIN

January, 15, 2005 - The CSM men's basketball team broke open a tight game midway through the second half to defeat Harford 93-81 and win their first MDJUCO game.

    The first half was tight, with several lead changes and ties.  Fittingly it was tied at 40-40 at the break.  The Hawks jumped in front early, and Patrick Harper's lay-up off a steal with 13:13 left gave CSM their biggest lead of the first half at 18-11.  CSM (3-15, 1-8) used a tight man to man defense, taking away the passing lanes, to cause numerous Harford turnovers which led to several Hawk fastbreaks.

    Slowly the Owls clawed their way back into their game, posting players down low and using their size advantage,  and taking advantage of numerous offensive rebounds.  With 9:20 left Harford took their biggest lead of the night at 23-20, and the rest of the way neither team was able to gain more then a two point advantage.

    The game remained tight in the early going of the second half, until Maurice Parker hit a three pointer followed by Justin Jackson's steal off a steal to give CSM a 47-42 lead with 18:09 left in the second half.

    Still clinging to a five point advantage, CSM outscored the Owls 19-10 over a ten minute stretch to take a 75-59 lead with 3:33 left.  Although only playing with six players, the Hawks seemed the fresher team, causing turnovers and beating Harford (4-17) to loose balls.

    Tim Bowie, Patrick Harper, and Justin Jackson did a good job on the boards, negating Harford's earlier advantage.

    Maurice Parker led a balanced Hawk attack with 24 points, including 3 three pointers.  Justin Jackson added 18, (15 of them in the second half), Larmar Bentley had 17, and Patrick Harper added 14.

    Brian Shelby led Harford with 23 pts., and Richard Johnson had 20 pts. for the Owls.

    CSM will be on the road for the next three games before returning home on Saturday, Jan. 29 to play Essex at 8:00 PM.  The CSM women will face Takoma Park earlier that night at 6:00 PM.