PRINCESS ANNE, MD -- South Carolina State, playing its fourth contest in six days, including the last two on the road, was outscored by 20 points in the second half in dropping a 92-69 decision to Maryland Eastern Shore Saturday.

The Bulldogs had three players in double figures, led by the 16 points of James "JJ" Richardson, but could not match the energy of the host Hawks, especially in the final stanza when UMES outscored the Bulldogs 48-28 while blistering the nets with 68 percent accuracy, including 55 percent from behind the arch. UMES finished the game connecting on 55.4 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range. The Hawks also enjoyed a huge edge on the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 44-26 for the contest.

"I was really disappointed in our performance," said Bulldog head coach Murray Garvin. "Mentally, we just didn't appear to be ready. Going from a big win at Hampton on Wednesday to a big loss against Maryland Eastern Shore was tough to accept."

"We were only down by three (44-41) at the half but we didn't match their energy in the second half. I must say they (the Hawks) shot the ball well and played hard. We have had a rough stretch of late, playing four games in six days, so fatigue may have been a factor. But I give credit to Coach Bobby Collins and his team."

Following Richardson in the scoring column for SC State was Eric Eaves with 12 points, Ed Stephens will 11, and Tashombe Riley and Ian Kinard with 10 each. Eaves and Riley had six rebounds each to lead the Bulldogs on the boards.

SC State made just 41.3 percent of its chances from the field, including just 27.9 percent in the final 20 minutes when UMES pulled away for the win.
Ahead 44-41 at the half, the host began the final period with an 11-4 run to push its lead to 55-45 with 116:15 left.

A 3-pointer by Stephens with 15:47 showing closed the gap to 5-48 but the Hawks went on a 15-7 run to build a 70-55 edge at the 10:44 mark. Richard got a 3-pointer for SC State to make it 70-58 at the 10:32 mark but a 15-6 run gave UMES an 85-64 edge at the 6:50 mark. UMES's biggest lead was 25, 90-65 with 2:56 to play.

The first half was a nip-and-tuck affair with seven lead changes and as many deadlocks before the host took a 44-41 lead at intermission.

Riley, who had 10 points and six rebounds in the opening stanza, got two free throws with 7:36 left in the half to forge a 25-all tie. The Hawks regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Copeland but Richardson answered for the Bulldogs seconds later for a 28-28 tie, the fifth deadlock of the opening 20 minutes.

UMES scored eight of the next 13 points to go ahead 36-33 on a Derrico Peck follow shot with 4:06 on the clock but the Bulldogs rallied to go ahead 38-36 when Eaves was credited with a basket on a goal-tend call against the Hawks at the 3:38 mark.

UMES closed out the period with an 8-3 run to take its 44-41 advantage to the locker room.

Maryland Eastern Shore was led by Copeland with 22 points and five assist. Dontae Caldwell added 16 and seven rebounds, while Peck chipped in 13 and Ryan Andino 11 points in the win.

The Hawks improve to 7-14 overall, 4-2 in the MEAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 6-14 overall, 3-4 in the league.

SC State will play the final game in its 3-game, 7-day road trip Monday at Howard in an MEAC doubleheader that gets underway at 5:30 p.m. with the women's contest. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
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