Box Score ORANGEBURG, SC—Junior guard Eric Eaves tossed in a game-high 26 points to lead South Carolina State to its fifth (5^th) straight victory in a 68-63 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore Monday (Jan.18) night at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

 "I give credit to our basketball program, its feels good to win five in a row," said SC State head coach Murray Garvin. "UMES is a well-coached team with tremendous talent and my hat goes off to them for a hard fought game. I was very pleased down the stretch how we held things together and had some guys step up big for us like Ty Soloman and Darryl Palmer."

Eaves was 10-of-16 shooting and made all four of his free-throw attempts.

Sophomore guard Ty Soloman hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 60-58 lead with 1:27 left, followed by  Eaves 3-point play for a five-point advantage with 57 seconds left. UMES's Devin Martin answered with a 3-pointer but Soloman made it a two-possession game again after a key layup.
 
After a UMES turnover, sophomore guard Ed Stephens who saw limited action due to an injury suffered in the first-half hit two free throws to extend SC State's lead to 67-61 with 18.5 seconds left.
 
Senior forward/guard Gabriel McCray added nine points' four rebounds, while Stephens chipped in eight points in 22 minutes of play.
 
Senior forward Daryll Palmer finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four blocks for South Carolina State who improved to 10-10 overall, 5-1 MEAC. The Bulldogs, who finished last season with just 11 total wins extend their home winning streak to seven straight.
 
"It was a total team effort and we will enjoy each victory but its back to work to get prepared for two tough road games this weekend at Hampton and Norfolk," said Garvin.

Dominique Elliott led Maryland-Eastern Shore (4-16, 1-4) with 19 points, and Martin finished with 15.
 
South Carolina State returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 23) on the road against Norfolk State in a pivotal Mid-Eastern Athletic showdown. Tipoff is 6 p.m.