Game Notes

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team faces a stiff test with a weekend on the road in the Hampton Roads area. On Saturday, UMES (13-11, 6-3) travels to take on the Hampton Pirates for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off at the Hampton University Convocation Center.

UMES will try to bounce back after their first road loss in conference play, at Howard on Monday evening. The Hawks were deadlocked with the Bison at halftime, but Howard jumped out with a 13-3 run to start the second half. The two stars from Howard shined bright, with James Carlton racking up 31 points and James Daniel scoring 21 points. For the most part, Mike Myers (Camden, N.J.) was bottled up inside for UMES, managing 14 points. However, Myers relied on free throws as he was just 3-of-9 from the field.

The road has been kind to UMES, even with the loss in Washington, D.C. on Monday. The Hawks have the second-most road victories in the NCAA with eight wins away from Princess Anne, behind only Albany at nine road wins. In MEAC play, the Hawks are 3-1 in road contests with wins against Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M, in addition to the loss at Howard.

Three-point shooting has been an important catalyst to the Hawks' 6-3 record in the MEAC and fourth place standing. UMES leads the MEAC in three-point accuracy with a 38.0% clip from long range, with Devon Walker, Ryan Andino and Devin Martin knocking down the bulk of those attempts. All three shooters rank among the top five players in the conference, with each of them draining at least 40% of their three-point attempts. Walker leads the league with a 41.4% mark from beyond the arc, including an 11-for-16 clip in his last two games.

Hampton (8-14, 4-5) is a familiar opponent for the new Hawks' coaching staff, as first-year head coach Bobby Collins should be very comfortable at the HU Convocation Center. Collins spent seven seasons as an assistant at Hampton, before being promoted to the head coach position in 2002. Collins took Hampton to the 2006 NCAA Tournament and won a MEAC Coach of the Year award in his four-season tenure leading the Pirates.

The Pirates lead the all-time series over UMES, 35-21, though it has been lopsided in recent years. UMES has not defeated Hampton since February of 2008, with the last eight meetings favoring the Pirates. Hampton swept the season series last year, including a 103-89 victory in Princess Anne that featured seven technical fouls and two ejections.

Hampton has slipped slightly this year after a 13-3 conference record and second-place finish in the MEAC last year. The Pirates were picked to finished second in the conference preseason poll, even earning nine first-place votes. The Pirates stand at 4-5 in league play so far, in seventh place with over half of conference play gone by. The Pirates are coming off an 86-67 loss at NJIT, a team that also beat UMES by a closer nine-point margin.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at HU Convocation Center on Saturday evening, following the conclusion of the women's basketball game between the two schools. Hawks fans can listen live to coverage on the Hawks Radio Network, powered by SFMSports.net and Fox Sports 960 AM in Salisbury, Md.