PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team fell to the Savannah State University Tigers on Monday evening (Feb. 4) 68-63 in the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center.
"They shot the ball better in the second half than they did in the first," head coach Clifford Reed said. "Our defense was not as good after halftime and I think that was due to us having some unforced turnovers that helped them get out in transition."
The game was a back and forth affair for most of the first 30 minutes. The two teams traded the lead 14 times and were tied on seven different occasions including at halftime.
Eastern Shore trailed 29-24 with 10 seconds left before the half. Following a timeout, sophomore Canaan Bartley (Miami, FL) streaked down the court and found junior Ahmad Frost (Cincinnati, OH) in the corner for a 3-pointer. As the Tigers tried to quickly inbound the ball, local product Colen Gaynor (Berlin, MD) jumped in front of the pass, stole the ball and made a layup as time expired to tie the game.
Grad student Ryan Andino (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) made a 3-pointer at the 12:42 mark of the second half to tie the game at 45. Savannah State would score the next basket 30 seconds later and would hold the lead for the rest of the contest. Their lead would get up to as many as 10 before the game ended.
The Shore did not go away quietly as they had the ball with under two minutes left and were down 65-61, but turned the ball over. SSU went 3-4 on free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico) led the Hawks with 12 points. Andino finished with 11 points and Frost had 10 for Eastern Shore.
Savannah State ended the game with three players in double figures. Zach Sellers led them with a game high 19 points. Zaquavian Smith and Romani Hansen finished with 15 and 11 points respectively.
The Shore will now have their last long road trip of the regular season as they travel to North Carolina to face North Carolina Central on Saturday (Feb. 9) and North Carolina A&T on Monday (Feb. 11).
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
