Nov. 23, 2008
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team dropped its home opener to Longwood, 61-49, at the William P. Hytche Center in front of 1,247 Saturday.
Junior Neal Pitt (Fort Washington, Md.) led all scorers with 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks, who fell to 0-2 on the season. Kevin Swecker had 17 points and three boards for the Lancers, who improved to 3-2. Freshman Keishawn Mayes (Warrenton, N.C.) also tallied double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.
"We had good inside play from with Neal and Keishawn but we didn't make enough shots," said UMES head coach Frankie Allen. "Our defense was solid for the most part, we got a lot of stops, but we just didn't make enough shots when we had to."
Longwood scored 12 of the game's first 16 points to take to a 12-4 advantage with 11:59 left in the half on an Antwan Carter jumper. The Lancers extended their lead to 10 - the biggest of the half - less than four minutes later when Swecker hit a three-pointer.
Pitt cut the lead to three on a pair of free throws with 5:11 to go at 19-16, but the Hawks trailed by seven at the break, 25-18.
UMES went on a 15-2 run to open the second half, taking a 33-29 lead with 12:18 to play on a jumper from Mayes. Longwood regained the lead on a Martiz Washington three midway through the half.
The Lancers pulled away in the final 10 minutes, steadily putting the game out of reach.
"That was a very winnable game," Allen said. "Our guys battled and fought. To [Longwood's] credit, they made some big shots, but in the final analysis, you've got to be able to knock down some shots."
The Lancers shot 35.8 percent from the floor on the game to UMES' 31.7. The Hawks won the battle on the boards, 40-32.
The Hawks travel to Annapolis, Md., to face Navy Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
