PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team jumped out to an early lead on Monday night (Jan. 27) against the Morgan State University Bears, but were not able to sustain it as they suffered a 56-50 defeat.

"We delivered a big punch early but I think we took our foot off the gas a little bit," Hawks coach Jason Crafton said. "Give credit to Morgan State they played a great second half and were able to get a tough win."

The Hawks (2-19, 1-5 MEAC) got out to a 16-2 advantage less than seven minutes into the game. They held the Bears without a field goal made until the 11:44 mark of the first half. Eastern Shore allowed just four makes from MSU in the first half as they carried a 23-15 lead into the locker room.

Freshman Da'Shawn Phillip (Baltimore, Maryland) hit a jumper to begin play in the second half to put Maryland Eastern Shore up 10 at the 19:50 mark. Morgan State would score the next 11 points in the game and take their first lead of the game at 26-25 with 15:26 remaining.

With the score tied at 33 with 10:25 left, the Bears began to put together a run that would help them gain some separation. They would outscore Eastern Shore 12-4 over the next six minutes to take a 45-37 lead into the final four minutes.

The Hawks would not go away as a 3-pointer from redshirt junior Marlon Adams (Brooklyn, New York) made the squad's deficit 50-47 with 1:48 remaining. MSU would get a dunk on the next possession that was quickly answered by a layup from senior Bryan Urrutia (Chihuahua, Mexico).

Eastern Shore forced a shot clock violation on the ensuing possession, but would miss a shot from behind the arc to tie the game. However, senior AJ Cheeseman (Snellville, Georgia) got a steal after that and got the ball to classmate Gabriel Gyamfi (Brampton, Ontario) who got fouled. Gyamfi hit one of two free throws to make it 52-50 and that's the closest the Hawks would get. The Bears went 4-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch to ice the game.

Phillip scored a career-high 14 points to lead the Hawks in scoring. He was the only member of the team in double figures. Urrutia had eight rebounds to lead the squad on the glass. David Syfax scored 11 points off the bench to lead Morgan State.

The Shore will be back in action on Feb. 3 at Delaware State. The Hawks are in the midst of a five game losing streak, but Crafton still has a positive outlook for his team as they head into the heart of their conference schedule.

"I have talked to the guys and said 'Why not us and why not now'," Crafton said. "I think if we can continue to get better, we can get to the MEAC Tournament and make some things happen."

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