The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) showed they belonged on the court with No. 25 Pittsburgh in the first half trailing by just six at the break and sticking within single digits into the second half. But the second half was another story as the Hawks fell 92-58 at the Petersen Event Center.

"I know we are capable of competing," head coach Bobby Collins said. "We had spurts where we played well. They were just so big and so talented that it just wore us down. I'm pleased that we did show some fight."

Junior forward Bakari Copeland (Decatur, Georgia) scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down a rebound. His 16 first-half points went a long way toward keep the Hawks (3-13, 0-2 MEAC) in striking distance of the Panthers at the break 39-33.

"When he plays his role and buys into his role, things happen," Collins said. "He's starting to do those things, but we have to get all 15 guys understanding their roles when they come in the game."

Dominique Elliott (Savannah, Georgia) played strong on the inside along with Copeland, with 12 points and 10 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting. Elliott left the game with 4:14 remaining after turning his ankle. His status for the next contest is unknown.

Senior co-captain Devin Martin (Baltimore, Maryland) managed just 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting, breaking a streak of four straight games with at least 23 points. Martin drew a lot of attention on the perimeter, including some double teams, as the Panthers decided not to let him beat them.

The trio accounted for all 19 of the Hawks' made field goals on the evening.

While the first half was the Hawks strongest against a ranked opponent since the first half at Maryland, Pittsburgh (12-1) started to pull away a few minutes into the second half.

The Panthers started the second half by hitting 11-of-15 shots from the field. They hit 22-of-36 to push the lead to 72-48 at the 7:06 mark of the second half.

Pittsburgh outscored UMES 53-25 after the break and four players - Jamel Artis (14), Michael Young (14, Shelton Jeter (13) and Sterling Smith (12) - reached double digits for the Panthers.

"We had 17 turnovers in the game and we only had six at the half," Collins said. "They scored 29 points off of turnovers. There is the 30-point lead. We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball especially when they are not trapping."

The Panthers held the Hawks without a field goal from the 11:43 mark of the second half until the end of the contest. The Hawks missed their last nine shots from the floor.

"We just have to do a better job of sharing the basketball," Collins said. "They started trapping Dom (Elliott). I want him to catch the ball a little deeper and put himself in more scoring opportunities. He's looks to be a facilitator more so than a scorer and we have to do a better job of getting him posting deep and scoring the basketball."

The Hawks will next head to Columbia (New York) on Jan. 6. UMES does not return home until a Jan. 11 men's and women's doubleheader against Morgan State.

"This was a beast of a schedule and we have one more beast of a game in the nonconference at Columbia," Collins said. "We have to get some rest for a day and get back to work and hopefully go and try to pull that one off."

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