BUIES CREEK, North Carolina — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team fell to the Campbell University Fighting Camels 66-55 on Wednesday afternoon (November 24).

"I thought we had some sluggish spots in the first half that really cost us," head coach Jason Crafton said. "They (Campbell) are so good and efficient in their offense, but I'm proud of what our guys did in the second half, especially the last 10 minutes when we pretty much played them toe to toe."

The Hawks got out to a slow start offensively as they trailed 13-5 at the 12:53 mark. Eastern Shore would go on a 9-0 run after that to take the lead.

Junior point guard Da'Shawn Phillip made a jumper right before the under 12:00 media timeout. Following the break, the team got layups from senior Donchevell "Tuka" Nugent and junior Dom London and then a 3-pointer from junior Kohen Thompson. That spurt gave the team a 14-13 advantage with 10:08 left in the opening half.

Campbell responded with six straight points of their own. A jumper from Phillip with 4:49 on the clock brought The Shore within two at 21-19, but they would not get any closer than that the rest of the half. The Camels led 33-25 at halftime.

In the first half, the Hawks struggled from the field shooting. They made just nine shots while shooting 32.1% and 21.4% from behind the arc. However, the squad did make all their free throws attempts in the first 20 minutes.

The pace of the game picked up after the halftime break. Junior Kevon Voyles hit back to back shots from the perimeter in the first two minutes of the second half to make the score 35-30. Campbell responded by going on a run and opening their lead to 13 at the 14:43 mark when they were ahead 45-32.

The Camels would eventually build their lead up to 16 with 9:13 left. The Shore made one last surge and closed the gap to single digits following a pair of free throws by senior Zion Styles that made the score 60-51 with 2:34 remaining. However, they would not get closer than that as the Camels secured the victory.

Eight different members of the Hawks scored as Styles led the way with 10 points. Senior Nathaniel Pollard, Jr. finished with a team-high eight rebounds.

Maryland Eastern Shore will now face Liberty on Saturday (November 27) at 5 p.m. in Lynchburg, Virginia.