LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Looking to win cap off a long season with another national championship hit a bump for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore bowling team as the Hawks dropped their matchup in the first round of the USBC/ITC Nationals on Thursday afternoon in Louisville, Ky.

UMES started off like the other 15 teams at Kingpin Lanes, bowling 24 Baker games to determine seeding. With these games starting off at 7:30 in the morning and last all the way until just after 2 p.m., teams were able to take a break before beginning the bracketed portion of the championship. 

Scoring 4907 earned the Hawks the No. 6 seed in the brack and faced off against the No. 11 seed Sacred Heart Pioneers in the first round.

SHU would start the match up off with a five point win, 189-184. The Hawks responded right away with a 170-152 win in game two. The Pioneers would retake the lead with a win in game three 193-158. For the second time, UMES tied the score at 2-2 with a 212-184. 

The Hawks would then find themselves one game away from the next round with a 214-183 win in game five. However it was SHU's turn to tie the score with a 221-203.

With the match up coming down to game seven, both teams bowled the highest they had all day. However it was not in the Hawks' favor with the Pioneers knocking off UMES 268-255.

The loss moves the Hawks to the lower bracket on Friday morning. Their opponent is a recently familiar one.

UMES will take on Duquesne after the Dukes dropped their match up to Wichita State. The Hawks and DU faced off twice in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament two weeks ago with the Dukes claiming a pair of wins to knock the Hawks out of that tournament.