PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — After three minutes had been played in Saturday' game (Dec. 15), the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team held a 5-0 advantage over the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. The quick start did not sustain for the Hawks over the next 37 minutes as the Panthers pulled away to capture a 78-43 win.

"They were better than us tonight and came out and exerted their length and athleticism," head coach Clifford Reed said. "We came out and had a good showing the first few minutes but then we started to miss shots and in basketball you have to make shots."

The Hawks shot 21.4 percent from the field in the first half on just six made field goals. The opening half also saw the Hawks get in foul trouble as juniors AJ Cheeseman (Snellville, GA) and Tyler Jones (Atlantic City, NJ) had three and two fouls respectively.

In the second half, Pittsburgh opened up with a 9-0 run to start and increased their advantage to 30 with a 47-17 lead. The run was stopped by grad student Ryan Andino (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) as he made a three from the right wing at the 16:37 mark. The shot made him the tenth member in Hawk basketball history to score 1,000 career points.

Also, the second twenty minutes saw Jones and Cheeseman find their rhythm as each player finished with 16 points in the contest. Jones eventually fouled out of the contest with 1:12 left in the game.

"It was good for the two of them (Jones and Cheeseman) to see ball go in the basket," Reed said. "They both shot a good percentage as well and that's the most important thing."

Pittsburgh was led by the two guys that have led them in scoring all season, Xavier Johnson and Jared Wilson-Frame. Johnson had a slow start but eventually found his footing to finish with 12 points and four assists. Wilson-Frame was a problem for the Hawks all game as he nearly had a double-double in the first half and finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

The Shore will now travel back home and regroup before heading down south to play Winthrop in Rock Hill, SC on Dec. 20. They will follow that game with a contest at American University on Dec. 22 before taking time off for Christmas.

For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.