Box Score

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball began their conference play with a tightly contested game with the defending MEAC champions, North Carolina Central. Despite the seesaw battle, the NCCU Eagles held off the upstart Hawks for a 68-63 final score.

UMES came into the contest riding high on a two-game winning streak, looking to upset the reigning league champions. Meanwhile, North Carolina Central had won 18 straight conference games, going back to January of last season. The Eagles established an early lead, holding the upper hand for the majority of the first half. NCCU built up an eight-point lead at 20-12 before UMES closed the gap before halftime. An 11-2 run briefly gave UMES a 23-22 lead after two free throws from Mark Blackmon. A jumper at the buzzer by Jordan Parks put the NCCU Eagles up 30-27 at intermission.

After the break, the Hawks jumped on top on multiple occasions, but they could never sustain the momentum for very long as NCCU found a response at every turn. Ryan Andino hit a three-point at 12:46 remaining to put UMES up 42-40, their first lead of the second half. The Eagles came back with five straight points to retake the lead. The Hawks' last lead came at 7:38 left after a Devon Walker three-pointer made it 49-48 UMES. Anthony McDonald immediately fired back with his own three-pointer, and NCCU never trailed after that point.

The Hawks continued to fight, but Jordan Parks lifted the Eagles with a pair of dunks and Dante Holmes came up big down the stretch at the free throw line. Parks finished with a double-double for NCCU at 20 points and 10 rebounds. NCCU withstood the push back from UMES thanks in large part to their success at the foul line. The Eagles made 25 of 31 attempts from the charity stripe, compared to 16 of 25 for UMES.

UMES was paced by Mike Myers with 18 points and seven rebounds, team-highs in both categories. Devin Martin contributed 13 points, including three three-pointers made, in addition to a team-high five assists. Ryan Andino put up 11 points, nine coming from beyond the arc, but the freshman could not find an open look in crunch time. NCCU's defense swarmed Andino, running him off the three-point line and preventing a made shot from the sharpshooter in the final nine minutes. Meanwhile, Myers scored the final 11 points for UMES as the comeback bid fell short.

North Carolina Central made the most of their offensive possessions, shooting 52.8% from the floor and 80.6% from the foul line. UMES won the rebounding battle, with 31 boards to the 27 of NCCU. The Eagles made the most of the Hawks' mistakes, turning 15 turnovers into 24 points the other way.

With the win, NCCU improved to 5-3 on the year and 1-0 in the MEAC, having now won 19 consecutive conferences games. UMES fell to 3-7 with the defeat, and 0-1 in the MEAC, dropping their seven straight matchup with North Carolina Central.

The Hawks will quickly have a chance to bounce back and even their league record on Monday night. UMES will host the North Carolina A&T Aggies at William P. Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with both men's and women's basketball.