Box Score

DOVER, Del. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team quieted a raucous crowd at Memorial Hall with a 69-65 victory over Delaware State on Saturday evening. UMES (17-13, 10-5) battled tooth and nail with the Hornets to the bitter end, surviving with their third straight win.

The first half featured an incredible display of offense from both teams. Mike Myers set the tone on the first possession with a steal and fastbreak dunk. From there, both squads pushed the pace to a breakneck speed while still playing clean, efficient and smart basketball. At every turn, UMES nailed a difficult shot and Delaware State hit a quick response. Neither team led by more than five points, and the Hawks took a 41-40 lead into intermission.

Both teams shot exactly 51.6% (16-for-31) in the first half, though Delaware State relied on three-pointers with eight triples on 16 attempts, while UMES went cold from deep at 1-for-10. The Hawks made up the difference at the foul line with an 8-for-12 mark from the foul line in the first half.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the second half. In all, the lead changed hands 20 times, in addition to 12 ties. After the high-octane first half, the two teams started slow out of the break. At the media timeout, both teams had scored just two points apiece in the opening five minutes of the second half. The Hornets rattled off a 9-0 run thanks to three triples (two by Tyshawn Bell, one by Amere May), establishing a 51-47 lead with 12:07 left. After UMES tied up the game again, Bell scored five consecutive points to give Delaware State their largest lead of the night, 56-51.

Facing their largest deficit of the night, UMES came up with a critical 9-0 run. Ryan Andino finally knocked down a three-pointer after a cold night to tie the game at 56-56. A dunk by Myers lifted the Hawks in front at 58-56 with 7:35 to play. With a packed crowd on Alumni Day, Delaware State refused to back down, tilting the scales in their favor at 61-60 with 3:03 to go. The seesaw battle kept going as two free throws from Ishaq Pitt put UMES back on top. After Pitt's freebies, UMES made three straight defensive stops to build a 66-61 cushion with 33 seconds left. With the Hornets forced to foul, UMES made clutch free throws to secure a 69-65 victory despite May's best efforts in the waning seconds.

Myers paced the Hawks with 20 points with very efficient 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and an 8-of-10 mark from the foul line. Devin Martin collected a double-double, his third of the season, with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Iman Johnson fought down low for 11 points, the third Hawk in double digits. Amere May led all scorers with 26 points for Delaware State, including 5-of-8 from deep. Tyshawn Bell and Kendal Williams supplemented the Hornets' scoring with three triples each, tallying 17 and 15 points respectively.

UMES shot 44.4% for the game despite an off night from long range at just 3-for-16 (18.8%). The free throw disparity favored the Hawks who made 18-of-26 foul shots, compared to just 5-of-10 for Delaware State. The Hornets owned the three-point line with an unconscious 12-of-26 effort to buoy their offense. Delaware State outrebounded UMES 40 to 35, but the Hawks still managed the advantage in second chance points by a decent margin (17 to 6). The Hawks won the turnover battled with 16 takeaways, opposed to 13 giveaways. UMES jumped passing lanes and quick outlet passes to create fastbreak opportunities for 19 points off turnovers. The big men accounted for seven steals, four for Myers and three for Elliott.

The Hawks' victory is their third straight, all coming over teams that had previously defeated UMES earlier in the season. UMES improves to 17-13, now the most wins for the program since 1980-81. The victory also secures a winning record for the entire season, including any postseason results, the first for UMES in 21 years. At 10-5 in MEAC play, UMES retains third place with one game remaining in the regular season. This coming Monday, UMES will be idle while the rest of the league is in action. Depending on the results, UMES will clinch a top-4 seed and first-round bye in the MEAC Tournament if either Hampton or Howard loses.

The regular season concludes when UMES hosts Morgan State on Thursday, March 5 at W.P. Hytche Center in Princess Anne, Md. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Hawks can listen live to the Hawks Radio Network, powered by SFMSports.net and Fox Sports 960 AM in Salisbury, Md.