GREENSBORO, North Carolina — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team fell to the MEAC-leading North Carolina A&T Aggies 83-62 on Monday night (Feb. 24) inside the Corbett Sports Center.

The Hawks (5-23, 4-9 MEAC) began the game strong as they led 14-8 after a 3-pointer from redshirt senior Ahmad Frost (Cincinnati, Ohio) at the 14:47 mark of the first half. Two minutes later, junior Canaan Bartley (Miami, Florida) made a shot from long distance to put the team up 19-15, but Eastern Shore would hit a scoring drought after that. The Shore did not score for the next six minutes and the Aggies went on a 12-0 run in the process.

North Carolina A&T would continue to build on their lead and take a 43-27 lead into the locker room. They managed to shoot 56% from the field in the opening half, while attempting 18 free throws to just four for Maryland Eastern Shore in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Hawks saw the Aggies get their lead to 20 points after seven minutes had been played. The Shore would not go quietly as they got the lead down to 67-55 at the 6:42 mark following a layup from senior Gabriel Gyamfi (Brampton, Ontario).

The Aggies would answer that by outscoring the Hawks 16-2 over the next five minutes to put the game out of reach. Their lead got as high as 26 before the game finished.

Senior AJ Cheeseman (Snellville, Georgia) and freshman Kevon Voyles (Berlin, Maryland) each got into double figures in scoring with 16 and 10 points respectively. Gyamfi had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Five members of NCAT were in double figures. They were led by the double-doubles of Ronald Jackson (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Kameron Langley (10 points, 13 assists).

Maryland Eastern Shore will now come back home for their second matchup of the year with their Route 13 rival Delaware State on Saturday (Feb. 29). That game will also be Homecoming for the Hawks.

"We have to get back on track to making forward progressions and getting better," Hawks coach Jason Crafton said. "Our guys have to refocus and recognize that we have a long road to go and continue to get better, and if we do that we'll be just fine."

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