Game Notes

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team turns the calendar to 2015 with an 8-8 record and a chance to go above .500 with their final non-conference game of the year against New Jersey Institute of Technology. The tilt with NJIT is the fifth straight road game for the Hawks as Wednesday's contest is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off in Newark, N.J.

UMES (8-8) has won seven of their last nine games, including three in a row to close out 2014. The latest victory came against UT-Martin by a final score of 63-60. The Skyhawks had several looks at a game-tying three, but Alex Anderson's shot at the buzzer kicked off the rim to close a Hawks' win. The three-game winning streak has been entirely on the road (at St. Bonaventure, at Duquesne, and at UT-Martin). It is the first winning streak of at least three games for UMES since the 2010-11 season.

Mike Myers (Camden, N.J.) has been dominant in the post recently with back-to-back double-doubles. Myers followed his 22-point, 14-rebound performance at Duquesne with 14 points and 10 boards against the Skyhawks. Against UT-Martin, the senior forward also dished out a career-high six assists. Another senior, Devon Walker (Philadelphia, Pa.), has been catching fire lately as well. Walker has at least 12 points in each of the three consecutive wins, making 11-of-17 three-point attempts in the span.

The matchup with NJIT gives the Hawks an opportunity to rise above .500 with a victory. Sitting at 8-8, UMES is currently sporting an even record, the latest in a season that UMES has been .500 or better since 2001-02. This game represents the final non-conference game before MEAC play starts on January 12 at Morgan State. UMES has already secured seven non-conference wins this season, the most wins against schools outside the MEAC since UMES competed as an independent in 1980-81.

NJIT enters Wednesday's game with a 7-9 record, and a large amount of buzz surrounding one particular result. As huge underdogs, NJIT went into Ann Arbor and upset the Michigan Wolverines by a final score of 72-70 on December 6. Michigan was ranked #16 in the nation going into the contest, perhaps the biggest upset in all of college basketball this season. The Highlanders have surrounded that one game with other strong showings, defeating common opponents Duquesne, UMBC and Saint Francis University.

UMES and NJIT went down to the final buzzer last season with a single whistle playing a large role in the final result. After UMES took a late lead on a three-point play by Troy Snyder, a foul was called near halfcourt as Damon Lynn dribbled up the sideline giving NJIT two free throws with six seconds to play. Lynn calmly sunk both foul shots to give the Highlanders a 77-76 victory at W.P. Hytche Center back on February 19. The Hawks do hold the all-time series advantage, 2-1.

Lynn will likely play a big role again for NJIT. The sophomore is leading the Highlanders in scoring at 17.8 points per game, and he's taking nearly 16 shots per contest. As a freshman, Lynn scored 27 points against UMES, including those two free throws to lift NJIT to a last-second victory. Head coach Jim Engles has not done much fine-tuning with his lineup, making hardly any moves to his starting five. Lynn along with Ky Howard, Tim Coleman, Daquan Holiday and Winfield Willis have made 79 out of the 80 starts for NJIT this year, including 15 consecutive games with that particular lineup.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening at the Fleisher Center in Newark, N.J. Hawks fans can tune into the Hawks Radio Network for all the play-by-play action with Doug Newton on the call. Pregame coverage on the Hawks Radio Network starts at 6:40 p.m. on SFMSports.net and Fox Sports 960 AM in Salisbury, Md.