* The original tiebreaker scenarios sent out by the MEAC contained a mistake. After the conference reevaluated the standings, following Thursday's loss to Delaware State the Hawks fell to the No. 7 seed. This release has been corrected to reflect the change of seed, opponent and game time for UMES.
DOVER, Delaware — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore entered Thursday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season finale at the No. 5 spot in the standings and having won four of its last five games controlled its own destiny.
Unfortunately for the Hawks (9-19, 5-9 MEAC) it was Delaware State which played spoiler on its senior night, clipping the Hawks 68-44 and creating a three-way tie in the standings between the two Route 13 rivals and Coppin State — which lost to Morgan State Thursday.
With all three standing at 5-9 in conference play the Eagles grab the No. 5 seed by virtue of the tiebreakers, while UMES drops to the No. 7 seed and the Hornets take the No. 6 spot.
The Hawks will face off with Morgan State in the opening round of the Tournament on Wednesday (March 8) at 2 Noon.
UMES got off to a slow start at Memorial Hall falling behind quickly 8-2 in the opening minutes. At the end of the first the squad had managed to remain within four at 12-8. But another run to start the second quarter pushed DSU back out to a 35-21 halftime advantage.
The Hawks seemed to have found a way to make some plays after the break as they went on an 8-2 run capped by a jumper by freshman Lainey Allen (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania), which cut it to 37-29 Hornets.
It could have been a turning point, but Delaware State got two offensive rebounds on its next possession, and then a layup by freshman Tyshonne Tollie pushed the lead back to double digits 39-29 and it never got closer.
Freshman Savannah Brooks scored a game-high 20 points for the Hornets, while Tollie added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Allen led the Hawks with 11 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block. Sophomore Ariana Seawell (The Bronx, New York) added eight points and six boards.
The Hawks shot just 31% from the field, 15% from behind the arc and 59% from the free throw line. They were outrebounded 40-33 and turned the ball over 17 times.
