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PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team ran away with a 30-point victory on Saturday evening, defeating Savannah State by a final score of 87-57. UMES (10-9, 3-1) climbed over .500 on the season with their biggest conference win since 2001.

The game started slow for both teams with Savannah State controlling the early pace, resulting in a 10-10 tie at the 11:41 mark. UMES burst out with an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to open up a nine-point lead. Freshman Ryan Andino (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) knocked down three three-pointers in the first half, including a triple with 58 seconds remaining to push the Hawks' halftime lead to 39-25.

The Hawks controlled the paint all game with Mike Myers (Camden, N.J.) leading the charge inside. The big man finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. UMES outrebounded Savannah State, 39 to 23 with 16 offensive rebounds alone. Dominique Elliott (Savannah, Ga.) and Iman Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis.) helped the Hawks control the glass with 15 rebounds between the pair.

In the second half, Devin Martin (Baltimore, Md.) got hot from outside to turn the game into a blowout. Martin hit all five of his three-pointers after halftime, finishing with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Savannah State never trimmed the lead closer than 11 points in the second half, and UMES poured it on with Martin's long-range prowess. The Hawks as a team made 8-of-15 three-point attempts, good enough for a 53.3% clip from deep.

The Hawks' pressure defense resulted in 19 forced turnovers, leading directly to 31 points for UMES. The Hawks pushed the ball inside often, creating 28 free throw attempts as a team, including Myers' 8-of-11 mark from the charity stripe. Ishaq Pitt (Brooklyn, N.Y.) set a career-high with nine assists, the most by a Hawk in three seasons.

With the victory, UMES improves to 10-9 and 3-1 in the MEAC. UMES currently sits in fourth place in the MEAC standings, behind North Carolina Central, Norfolk State and Hampton. This is the latest that a Hawk team has held a winning record since the 1993-94 season when UMES finished at 16-12. The win already clinches the first season with double digit victories since 2010-2011. The win also represented the third straight MEAC win for UMES, going back to the North Carolina A&T victory in December. It's the first stretch of three consecutive conference wins since late in the 2010-11 season. With the 30-point margin, UMES recorded their biggest conference win by margin of victory since December 3, 2001 when the Hawks defeated Florida A&M by a final score of 85-54.

The Hawks will try to extend those streaks when they battle South Carolina State on Monday night. The Bulldogs will enter the contest with a 5-14 record, and a 3-2 mark in the MEAC, having lost at Delaware State on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at William P. Hytche Athletic Center after the conclusion of the women's basketball game.