WASHINGTON, D.C. — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team dropped their final contest before the Christmas holiday on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 22) to the American University Eagles 82-58.

The Hawks seemed to be a bit out of sync early on and it led to them being a step slow on many plays. Eastern Shore started the game by committing fouls on each of their first three defensive possessions.

"Overall I feel like we did not compete the way we are capable of early on," head coach Clifford Reed said. "That may be due to attrition from being on the road but we have to be better."

In the first half, American had more assists, 10, than the Hawks had made field goals, nine. The Eagles were also able to attack the basket much of the first 20 minutes and shot 17 free throws before halftime. Those things allowed AU to build their lead up to as many as 20 points less than 17 minutes into the game.

One of the bright spots for Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday was the return of redshirt junior Isaac Taylor (Wachapreague, VA). Taylor has not played in a game since March 2017 due to numerous injuries. He finished with 11 points and three rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

"Isaac played well for us today," Reed said. "He hasn't played in a year and a half or been practicing so it will take time to get him back in the swing of things."

The second half saw each team make a run to start the half. American opened up with a 7-0 run that was answered by a 10-0 run from the Hawks. Two free throws from Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico) with 16:22 on the clock in the second half made the score 50-35 to finish that run, but that was the closest the Hawks would get.

Junior Gabriel Gyamfi (Brampton, Ontario) led Eastern Shore is scoring on Saturday with 13 points and tied with Colen Gaynor (Berlin, MD) for the team high in rebounds with eight. Urrutia had a solid all-around game for the Hawks as he had eight points, six assists and five rebounds.

AU had four players in double figures and 10 players that scored overall. Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Sa'eed Nelson had 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and two steals for the Eagles. Larry Motuzis led American in scoring with 15 points.

The Hawks will be back on the court in Blacksburg, VA against Virginia Tech on Dec. 28. The Shore will close out 2018 with a home game against Chestnut Hill College on Dec. 31.

"We have to continue to gain continuity as we head into conference play," Reed said. "We have to get five guys working together at all times on the court and now that we have guys back we can work on that."

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