PRINCESS ANNE, MD—The South Carolina State Bulldogs once again came up short dropping another close defeat, 61-63, to Maryland Easter Shore Saturday (Feb. 2^nd) in the closing seconds at W.P. Hytche Athletic Center).

"Tough road loss to say the least," said head coach Murray Garvin. "This makes our 9th game this season where it comes down to one possession. We have to finish games point blank period."

"We have practiced every scenario we have been faced with so it comes down to in game execution and either getting the stop or making the shot," said Garvin. "We will regroup and give our absolute best effort at Delaware State on Monday."

Junior forward's Damani Applewhite and David Bottenberg tossed in 11 points each, while Applewhite finished with a team-high nine (9) rebounds in the loss.

Despite the loss, South Carolina State's defense forced a game-high 15 turnovers along with capturing 16 points in return off their efforts. Junior guard Jahmari Etienne added 8 points, while senior point guard Janai Raynor-Powell, junior guard Lavar Harewood and freshman guard Allen Hatchett, Jr all added seven points on the day.

UMES led by as many as 10-points, 42-52, late in the second-half with 8:16 remaining.  The Bulldogs rallied to tie the game, 61-61, with 0:35 seconds remaining off a 3-pointer by Harewood.

Point guard Bryan Urrutia banked in the go-ahead basket with seven seconds to go lift Maryland Eastern Shore to a 63-61 victory over South Carolina State.  Urrutia finished with a game-high 22 points in the win.

South Carolina State returns to action on Monday (Feb.4^th ) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with Delaware State in Dover, DE. Tipoff is 5:30 pm for the women, with the men in a 7:30 pm tipoff.

For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.