#8 "HORNETS" (5-25; 3-15 MEAC) vs. #9 MDES "Hawks" (5-26; 4-12 MEAC)
MEAC Tournament - Opening Round                                               
Tues., Mar. 10, 2020 - 6:00 p.m.    
Norfolk, Va. (Scope Arena - 10,253)

THE GAME 
Delaware State (5-25; 4-12 MEAC), seeded eighth in the tournament, closed out the regular season with two wins in the last three games. The Hornets wrapped up the regular year with a 100-88 victory at Howard, their first 100-point performance against a MEAC opponent since a 104-92 win at Coppin State in 2015. Also in the contest, Delaware State had three players reach the 20-point mark in a game for the first time since 1998. John Crosby (gr.), a 2019-20 All-MEAC Second Team selection, led the way with 25 points, while Ameer Bennett (jr.) scored a career-high 24 points and Pinky Wiley (jr.) also chipped in 24 points in the season finale at Howard. Crosby is tops in the MEAC and 41st among all NCAA Division I players in scoring at 19.4 points per game. Wiley has reached double-figures in scoring in nine straight games, averaging 17.1 points during the span. Myles Carter (jr.) has been the Hornets' best player off the bench, hitting double figures in eight of the last nine games.  Carter tallied a career-best 22 points on eight-for-11 shooting from the field, including five-of-five on three-point shots in the next to last regular season game against Norfolk State on Mar. 2.     
 
Ninth-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore (5-26; 4-12 MEAC), brings a five-game losing streak into the MEAC Tournament. The skid includes an 84-63 loss to Delaware State on Feb. 29 in Princess Anne, Md. The Hawks ended the regular season with a 63-60 home loss to Coppin State on Mar. 5. MDES Freshman guard Da'Shawn Phillip was named to the 2019-20 MEAC All-Freshman Team after finishing second on the Hawks in scoring at 7.5 points per game. He also led the team with 26 blocks and was second on the Hawks with 37 three-point field goals. A.J. Cheesman was Maryland-Eastern Shore's scoring leader in the regular season at 10.0 points per game. He is also the team's top rebounder at 5.1 per contest. The Hawks rank at the bottom in the MEAC in scoring at 57.3 points per game.          
 
Series History (DSU leads 56-55;  3-3 in MEAC Tournament)   
The teams met twice in the regular season, with each winning on the road. Maryland-Eastern Shore won the first 2019-20 meeting 68-66 on two late free throws on Feb. 3 at Delaware State. The Hornets avenged the loss with an 84-63 victory on Feb. 29 at Maryland-Eastern Shore. This will be just the seventh MEAC Tournament meeting between the Hornets and Hawks, and first in 24 years.  The teams split the previous six tournament meetings. Delaware State won the last post-season battle 59-56 in a quarterfinal game. The Hawks' last MEAC Tournament win over the Hornets was in 1994 (91-76). The winner of the Delaware State / MDES opening round tournament contest will face No. 1 seed and three-time defending champ North Carolina Central on Wed.  (Mar. 11) at 6:00 p.m.