The College of Maryland Jap Shore (UMES) males’s HBCU basketball staff secured its first win in opposition to a Division I opponent and its first Mid-Jap Athletic Convention (MEAC) victory of the season by defeating North Carolina Central College (NCCU) 68-59 on February 26, 2025. A giant win for first-year UMES head coach Cleo Hill Jr.
The sport at UMES’s dwelling court docket noticed the Hawks overcome a halftime deficit. Trailing 33-27 on the break, UMES rallied within the second half, outscoring NCCU 41-26 to clinch the win. “This win was nicely overdue. I recognize how laborious the blokes performed tonight and the good assist from our followers. I assumed the vitality in Hytche was wonderful.” Coach Hill remarked after the sport.
Evan Johnson led a balanced UMES offense with 19 factors, going an ideal 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. KC Shaw added 16 factors, grabbing a game-high and season-best 12 rebounds and allotting six assists. Cardell Bailey scored 14 factors, seven rebounds, and 4 assists. “We had an enormous play by KC Shaw that sparked our staff and the group and we had been in a position to maintain that prime stage of vitality all through the night time. I’m happy with our guys. We had a extremely robust non-conference schedule adopted by matchups in opposition to high quality groups within the MEAC. They’ve stayed motivated and had been as much as the problem tonight.”
Earlier than taking the helm at Maryland Jap Shore, Hill served as the top coach at Winston-Salem State College (WSSU), one other HBCU with a wealthy basketball historical past. At WSSU, Hill led the Rams to a number of profitable seasons and a CIAA championship, reinforcing his fame as a robust chief in collegiate basketball. His success there made him a major candidate for the UMES teaching place, the place he now goals to raise this system inside the MEAC.
Hill’s connection to HBCU basketball runs even deeper by means of his father, Cleo Hill Sr., a legendary participant from Winston-Salem State who was one of many first HBCU gamers drafted within the first spherical of the NBA Draft. Carrying on his father’s legacy, Hill Jr. has continued to emphasise participant improvement, self-discipline, and teamwork—qualities that had been on full show in Maryland Jap Shore’s latest victory over NCCU.
This matchup provides one other chapter to the rapidly rising rivalry between these two HBCUs. Earlier within the season, on January 11, 2025, UMES confronted a difficult recreation in opposition to NCCU, leading to an 88-69 loss. The latest victory demonstrates the Hawks’ development and resilience over the season.
