PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — In their first action of 2020, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team grabbed a 78-66 conference win on Saturday night (Jan. 4) over the Howard University Bison inside the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.

Saturday's victory was the first win for head coach Jason Crafton over a division I opponent. The Hawks first win of the season was against Division III Clarks Summit.

"This game was a testament to the guys sticking together after a tough stretch to start the season," Crafton said. "They found a way to put 40 minutes together of playing with toughness and executing our game plan."

Howard jumped out to a 15-4 lead seven minutes into the first half. The Hawks responded with an 11-0 over the next three minutes that was capped by a pair of free throws from redshirt sophomore Walter Prevost (Houston, Texas) to tie the game.

The Bison held a 21-15 lead with 6:55 remaining in the half. Eastern Shore came back with a 16-0 run to take a 31-21 advantage. The Shore would use that run to help them go into halftime up 36-28.

HU opened the second half with new energy as they outscored the Hawks 15-4 in the first six minutes of the frame. The lead would change hands a few times over the next few minutes until senior AJ Cheeseman (Snellville, Georgia) hit a pair of free throws at the 12:14 mark to give the team a 49-48 lead that they would not surrender for the remainder of the game.

A minute later, the Bison's Kyle Foster received two technical fouls and was ejected from the game. That resulted in four made free throws for Maryland Eastern Shore and the Hawks would not look back as they score 13 unanswered points to take a 60-48 lead and cruise to victory from there. The Shore would get their lead as high as 16 points in the final four minutes of the game.

Cheeseman has had an up and down season for the Hawks. He dealt with an injury early in the season that kept him out four games, but he led the squad on Saturday as he finished with team highs in points and rebounds with 17 and seven respectively off the bench.

"AJ is a veteran guy that has experienced MEAC play before and regardless of his ups and down this season, I believe in him," Crafton said. "He did a good job of fighting tonight and he had a big night for us."

Junior Ty Gibson (Brooklyn, New York) also was in double figures for the Hawks as he had 14 points. The Hawks had a season high 17 assists as a team as redshirt senior Ahmad Frost (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the team with four dimes and no turnovers.

Three players were in double figures for the Bison. Charles Williams had a game-high 21 points to lead the Howard attack.

Maryland Eastern Shore will now have a week off before the face the North Carolina A&T Aggies next Saturday (Jan. 11) at home.

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