PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — After missing the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team will open their 2021-22 campaign in November for its first game since March 2020.
The schedule for this season gives fans a chance to see the squad for more games earlier in the campaign. The Hawks play five games inside the Hytche Center before the turn of the calendar, where they only played two such games in the 2019-20 school year.
The most intriguing matchup of the five nonconference home games will be a matchup with Longwood on December 30. They will play seven home games during the conference season beginning January 8 versus Norfolk State.
"I am very curious to see how these guys respond when we get back into a game because there is a lot of excitement for them after not having played for a year," head coach Jason Crafton said. "I look forward to just seeing them put the jersey on, have a smile on their face and get out there and play."
Eastern Shore's schedule opens on November 9 at Saint Joseph's. That game will serve as a matchup between Crafton and SJU head coach Billy Lange, whom Crafton served as an assistant under at Navy for six seasons from 2005-11. They will stay in Philadelphia the next day and face Temple on November 10.
Their next game will be on November 13 against Bryn Athyn at home. This matchup will serve as homecoming for Maryland Eastern Shore. Homecoming for the Hawks will be in November this season rather than February. They will follow that with a November 17 tilt with Hood College at home.
After that, the squad will play their next five games in five different states. The stretch begins on November 19 at Fordham and ends on December 4 at Lehigh. Contests with Campbell (November 24), Liberty (November 27) and UConn (November 30) will be the games in-between those.
"We have a dynamic schedule early on, so I'm looking forward to seeing these guys get back into the flow of competing and continuing to play a tough brand of basketball," Crafton said. "If we can do that in the first few weeks, then we'll have something to build off of for MEAC play.
"We're looking forward to resetting a foundation for being a strong defensive team this year and doing a great job of being competitive and playing with an edge."
Hawk Basketball single-game and season tickets are on sale now. Prices remain consistent with the previous year as season tickets are just $150 for chair backs and general admission and $500 for courtside seating. Single game tickets are just $8 ($15 for courtside), double-headers are $15 ($30 for courtside) and Homecoming is $25 ($40 for courtside).
Season Ticket packages include all 18 home dates (27 games in all). Regular season ticket holders will receive a discount on all MEAC Tournament Tickets. Courtside season ticket holders will receive a special courtside gift, MEAC Tournament Ticket discounts and special early MEAC Tournament Ticket seat selection opportunities. Due to COVID-19, Hawk Athletics will not be offering hospitality or parking packages this season.
