During the Hornets 68-65 lost at the hand of first place Morgan State, Delaware State made three huge mistakes that cost them the game.
Mistake #1: Bad Shooting
I didn't like way the Hornets were shooting the basketball. Especially missing shots in the first half where they shot 33% from the field. In the second half they improve a little bit by shooting 40%. Other than that their shot selection was disappointing. Marcus Neal's shoots were cold like they were on thin ice where he only six for 15 from the field. During the first five minutes of the first half the hornets missed their first six shots from their field. Every time the shot clock was running down they had to hurry up and make quick shots. For most of the game it didn't work as well they had thought. Also the Hornets three point shooting were also at it struggling point making only two of their nine three pointers. In the second half, their three point shooting improve a lot especially late in the game. The Hornets were in a losing battle in points in the paint where they were outscored 39-18 in the paint. However on the last possession of the game two of their best three point shooters were defended by the Bears defense so Marcus Oliver was third option to shoot the game tying shot with six seconds left. The result was heartbreaking miss and a heart breaking lost. If I were coach Greg Jackson Sr., I would have Jay Threatt, Brandon Baylor, or Trevor Welcher take the game tying shot.
Mistake #2: Not Enough Rebounds
The Hornets were outrebounded all night long as Morgan State's big men dominated the boards 41-25 including 14 on the offensive glass. The Hornets kept tipping the ball trying to get the rebound. Instead Morgan was more hungry than the Hornets player. Hornets next time rebound with two hands.
Mistake #3: Silly Fouls
Everytime the Hornets were on defense the whistles kept blowing all over the place. Some were heat check chippy fouls and some were called that shouldn't been called. In the second half there more fouls and more free throws committed by both teams. Morgan State 13 fouls and Delaware State 11 fouls.
The crowd was hype for a while but Morgan State try to take the crowd out of the game for most of the game until the 8 mintue mark of the second half when things started to heat up.
The Hornets will learn from this game build momentum and secrue the second seed for the MEAC Tournament. If these two teams meet again in the semi finals or the championship game, rest assure the Hornets will be ready for Morgan State and the results will be very different.
