Dec. 12, 2015 Box Score | Photo Gallery 
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) played its best half of basketball of the season on Saturday against No. 6 Maryland and then followed that up with another good one before falling 77-56 at the Xfinity Center in College Park.
"I think that is the best half," Collins said. "And I felt we just played hard and we worked. Regardless of how tall they were and how talented they were, we wanted to outwork them. I thought that was something that we did early."
Dominique Elliott (Savannah, Georgia) put up a game-high 20 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds and a pair of assists in 36 minutes for the Hawks (1-9, 0-2 MEAC). "With a team like this it gives me confidence and experience for later on in March and in conference play," Elliott said. "Going against the No. 6 team in the country you just have to do your best. That is basically what I did and my mindset coming in."
Elliott's presence in the paint, helped keep the Hawks close for much of the game as they stayed within 15 points until the final two minutes.
"Dom is an excellent player," Collins said. "We know it and we play through him. He's done a great job accepting that role and we ask a lot from him. He's done a great job not just scoring but rebounding and defending."
The Hawks shot 46 percent in the first half and cut the lead to 35-29 with a dunk by Derrico Peck (Atlanta, Georgia) in the closing moments of the first half. Maryland (9-1) pulled away in the second half when it outscored the Hawks 42-27.
"They pushed it in transition and the made wide open 3's," Elliott said. "We gave them a lot of wide open 3's."
Melo Trimble got hot early in the second half for the Terps hitting a pair of open 3's and the Terrapins were 4-of-9 from behind the arc in the second half. Trimble was a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range and finished with 18 points and four assists.
Rasheed Sulaimon led the Terps with 10 assists. Freshman Diamond Stone led Maryland with six rebounds.
Devin Martin scored 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting and finished with five rebounds and 4 assists after being hounded all night on the perimeter. Shane Randall (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) made his second start of the season for the Hawks and finished with six points, and a rebound. Thomas Rivera (Harlem, N.Y.) started his third straight game at the point contributing nine points, three rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Hawks outrebounded the Terps 28-26 outshot them in the first half, but gave up baskets at a 63-percent clip in the second half.
To beat Maryland, Collins said he knew the team would have had to play a perfect game. While they didn't, he was really pleased with the effort.
"They worked hard, but that is a very good basketball team 1-5 and then they have a very strong bench," Collins said "We just wanted to play well and guys bought into the system tonight. They did a great job with that and I can't ask for any more than for them to play as hard as they played tonight."
UMES will travel to Old Dominion on Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. and American University on Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. when they will hope to build on the momentum of this game.
"The second half against Georgetown we made a run," Elliott said. "To do that against a high major team, gives us confidence as a team. All we have to do it trust and believe and we'll be a pretty good team ourself."
All games can be heard locally on Fox Sports Radio 960 AM WTGM or on www.umeshawks.com. Brendan Gulick will have the call on the Hawks Sports Radio Network.
