Box Score NORFOLK, Va.- Deven Williams made 10 of 13 shots from the field and hit 6 of 7 from 3-point range as he scored a career-high 26 points to lead Savannah State to a 59-44 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament played in The Scope.

The Tigers led by as many as 11 points in the first half but only held a 28-24 lead at intermission.

Troy Snyder opened the second half with a 3-pointer to pull the Hawks within 28-27 but SSU (19-13) answered with a 11-2 run to go up by 10 with 14:54 remaining.

UMES closed their gap to seven with 10:42 left but a 13-5 run by the Tigers made the score 55-40 with 2:14 on the clock.

A layup by Williams with 18 seconds let gave SSU their biggest lead of the evening at 59-43.

Preston Blackman added 12 points for the Tigers while Rashad Hassan scored 10. Jyles Smith came off the bench to grab a game-high 8 rebounds.

The Tigers shot 54.5 percent in the second period and 51.1 percent for the game. SSU out-rebounded the Hawks 28 to 25.

UMES (2-26) shot 36.4 percent from the floor and were led by Snyder's 9 points. 5 rebounds and 4 assists.