PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team won the second consecutive game on Monday night (January 31) as they defeated the Morgan State University Bears 79-72.

"I feel like every night we have gotten a little bit better," head coach Jason Crafton said. "We had that month layoff (due to COVID-19 protocols) and lost three straight games, but you saw glimpses of us getting better each game.

"Tonight the most impressive thing was that everybody was ready to play. Every person was able to come in and contribute in some way shape or form and that was huge for us."

The opening seven minutes saw the score have three lead changes and a tie. Senior Mike Mensah hit a 3-pointer to put the Hawks up 10-7 with 12:37 on the clock. Eastern Shore (7-9, 2-3 MEAC) would not surrender the lead again for the rest of the game.

Morgan State hit a jumper to make the score 14-11 with 9:19 on the clock. The Shore would then go on a 9-2 run to lead 23-13 following a pair of free throws by Donchevell "Tuka" Nugent at the 6:46 mark.

The team's lead would continue to increase as the half continued as Nugent and junior Kevon Voyles, who was back after missing two games due to injury, made back to back layups to give Maryland Eastern Shore their biggest lead of the half at 35-20 with under 10 seconds left. The Bears would make a layup at the buzzer and the Hawks took a 35-22 lead into the locker room.

Eastern Shore came out of the locker room and continued their run. After two free throws from Morgan State, The Shore scored seven straight points to grab their biggest lead of the game after senior Nathaniel Pollard, Jr. made a layup with 17:33 left in the game. The score stood at 42-24.

The Bears went on a run for the next five minutes as they got the score down to 45-42 with 12:41 on the clock. Pollard, Jr. got a tip in and senior Zion Styles made a shot behind the arc to stop the visitors' momentum. However, MSU scored the next five points to make the score 50-47 with 11:07 remaining.

Mensah and Voyles each made a 3-pointer in the team's next two possessions to put the team up 56-49. Nugent hit a jumper after that to put the team up by nine with 9:25 left. He would continue his hot shooting over the next few minutes as he made a shot behind the arc while getting hit to make the score 65-53 with 7:13 on the clock.

Maryland Eastern Shore kept the lead in double figures until the 4:28 mark as they led 70-60. MSU scored six of the next eight points to make the score 72-66 with 2:31 remaining. One minute later, the Bears began to foul the Hawks to extend the game but the trio of Nugent, Pollard, Jr. and junior Dom London made free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Nugent scored a game-high 23 points off the bench to go along with five rebounds. Pollard, Jr. had his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while London finished with 13 points.

Chad Venning scored 15 points to lead Morgan State. Keith McGee and Sherwyn Devonish each had 13 points for the Bears.

The Shore will look for their third straight win at Howard on Saturday (February 5).