Fresh off its second win of the season, the University Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) will look to build some momentum when it hosts USCAA Division II Central Penn for a 4 p.m. matchup on Dec. 22.

The last time out, the Hawks (2-10, 0-2 MEAC) picked up a much-needed 79-64 win at American University on Dec. 20. Senior co captain Devin Martin (Baltimore, Maryland) led the way in that contest with a career-high 34 points and looked forward to continuing their strong play.

"It feels real good especially going into Christmas break," Martin said. "We have another one Tuesday against Central Penn and it would be nice to go into Christmas break 2-0. We come back from break and work and hopefully that will give us a rhythm and confidence to go and win the next couple of games we've got on the road."

Martin's big game wasn't his first of the season as he leads the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game to go with 4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while Dominique Elliott (Savannah, Georgia) averages 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Central Penn (13-5) plays in the Division II United States Collegiate Athletic Association which is not NCAA affiliated, but the Knights have played NCAA Division I Liberty, Howard and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) already this season.

Sophomore forward John Starks Jr. (no relation to former NBA player John Starks) leads Central Penn with 17.4 points per game, while junior forward Dominique Twigg is close behind at 17.3 points per game. Twigg also pulls down 7.7 rebounds per game.

After the short Christmas break, the Hawks will travel to St. Joseph's on Dec. 29, UMBC on Dec. 31, Pittsburgh Jan. 1 and Columbia on Jan. 6.

So Tuesday's matchup in the Hytche Center will be a welcome respite for the road-weary Hawks.
"Its long overdue," Martin said. "We've been on the road all year. But I think that is really helping us once we get to conference play and stuff, its helping us gain confidence and we know we can play with anybody. We have to bring it every night."

The game against Central Penn is the second of a women's and men's doubleheader. The women host Old Dominion prior to the game at 2 p.m.

All games can be heard locally on Fox Sports Radio 960 AM WTGM or on www.umeshawks.com. Brendan Gulick and David Byrd will have the call Tuesday on the Hawks Sports Radio Network.