PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team will wrap up their prolonged road trip with a Saturday afternoon game against Fordham University. The Hawks (1-6) play their eighth straight road game to begin the regular season as they face the Rams (1-3) with a 4:00 p.m. tip-off in the Bronx, N.Y.

UMES is coming off a devastating 58-55 loss to Bucknell on Tuesday as a part of the Progressive Legends Classic. The Hawks erased a 19-point deficit in the first half to take a late lead in the second half. Led by 12 points and four steals from Iman Johnson, UMES held a 54-50 lead with 40 seconds remaining. However, Bucknell's Chris Hass hit a three-pointer, and then UMES missed a few crucial free throws. Hass gave the Bison the lead with three free throws with five seconds left, and a Hawks' turnover sealed the game for Bucknell.

The defeat was the third straight contest in which UMES could not finish close games in the final minutes. The Hawks also lost in the final minute to Saint Francis University, and UMES led the majority of the game against the Detroit Titans before faltering down the stretch.

The bench played a huge role in the Bucknell game, led by the performance from Iman Johnson. The only other Hawk in double digits was Ishaq Pitt off the bench. In total, the bench players contributed 31 of the team's total 55 points on Tuesday. UMES will need top scorers Mike Myers (12 points per game) and Devin Martin (10.8 points per game) to find their top form ahead of the matchup with Fordham.

Fordham comes into Saturday's contest with a 1-3 record, with their only win coming against Division II New York Institute of Technology. The Rams have since lost three consecutive games to the University of Maryland, Penn State and most recently, University of Massachusetts - Lowell.

UMES has already faced one opponent from the Atlantic 10 Conference, VCU. Fordham is on the opposite end of the spectrum within the conference, having been picked to finish last in the 14-team league. The Fordham Rams have finished last in the A-10 each of the last four years under head coach Tom Pecora.

Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Rose Hill Gymnasium in the Bronx, N.Y. Hawk fans can listen to all the action on the Hawks Radio Network powered by SFMSports.Net and Fox Sports 960 AM in Salisbury, Md. Pregame coverage with Doug Newton will begin twenty minutes before tip-off.