Game Notes

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team will try for another road win as the Hawks square off against Florida A&M University on Monday night. UMES (11-10, 4-2) can lock up a rare road sweep of the Florida schools with a victory against the winless Rattlers.

UMES won the first game of this Florida road trip at Bethune-Cookman on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks led by ten points at halftime, but they had to survive a late comeback bid from the Wildcats. Though UMES never trailed in the second half, the result was in doubt until the final seconds when Devin Martin threw down a game-sealing dunk for a 74-70 final score. Mike Myers (Camden, N.J.) recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Dominique Elliott (Savannah, Ga.) sparked the squad in the first half, finishing the game with a career-high 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting.

With Saturday's results, UMES jumped up to fourth place in the MEAC standings at 4-2 during conference play. With the Hawks win and losses by Hampton and South Carolina State, UMES leapfrogged both the Pirates and Bulldogs in the league table. North Carolina Central leads the way at 7-0, having now won 25 consecutive MEAC games, while Norfolk State is right behind in second place at 6-1.

The Hawks have been one of the top road teams in the nation this season, with seven wins away from Princess Anne so far. The seven road victories are the second-most in the NCAA this year, behind only Murray State at eight road wins. Last season, UMES had just one road win at Coppin State, which broke a previous two-year road drought.

Another road game awaits UMES as the Hawks face the Florida A&M Rattlers (0-19, 0-6) in Tallahassee. The Rattlers under first-year head coach Byron Samuels are the last-place team in the MEAC. Florida A&M is one of two winless teams remaining in Division I, along with Central Arkansas (0-17). FAMU holds the longest active losing streak at 20 consecutive games, still in search of their first win under Coach Samuels. The Rattlers are led by junior guard Jermaine Ruttley who tops the team in scoring (14.8 per game), rebounding (6.3 per game) and steals (1.4 per game).

The Florida road trip can often pose issues for MEAC schools with the unusually long travel down to Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M. The Hawks have not visited Tallahassee since January 26, 2013, two years to the date of Monday's matchup. On that night, Kevin Mays missed a potential go-ahead jumper with five seconds left, as UMES fell just short, 55-54. Florida A&M holds the advantage in the all-time series, 38-20, and UMES has not won at Florida A&M since January 16, 2010. The Hawks have not swept a Sunshine State road trip to both Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman since the 2000-01 season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Fla. following the conclusion of the women's basketball game between the two schools. Hawks fans can listen live to Doug Newton on the Hawks Radio Network, powered by SFMSports.net and Fox Sports 960 AM in Salisbury, Md.