Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga.- Jeremiah Hill scored 17 points while Jyles Smith grabbed 13 rebounds to lift Savannah State to a 66-42 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore in Tiger Arena.
 
The win, which was also the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener for both squads, snapped a 10-game losing streak for the Tigers.
 
SSU opened the contest with seven unanswered points.
 
Leading 10-3, the Hawks started a 9-0 run to go ahead 12-10 with 8:35 left in the first half.
 
UMES's last lead of the game (16-15) came at the 6:35 mark after a pair of free throws by KyRee Jones.
 
Savannah State then responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead 24-16.
 
A 3-pointer by Hill put the Tigers ahead by nine with 3:09 left and a pair of free throws by Devan Williams gave SSU a 31-21 cushion with 1:04 remaining.
 
SSU led 31-23 at the half.
 
The Tigers lead ballooned to 13 early in the second period before UMES whittled their deficit to 42-37 with 13:06 on the clock.
 
The Hawks never got any closer as Savannah State answered with 11 straight points, closing the half with a 24-5 run.
 
Smith had six blocks for Savannah State (3-12) while Joshua Montgomery came off the bench to chip in 11 points.
 
The Tigers shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half and 46.5 percent for the game.
 
The temperature in Savannah dipped to 19 degrees overnight and Maryland-Eastern Shore was just as cold as the Hawks finished the contest shooting 22.2 percent from the floor.
 
Jones led UMES (2-11) with 17 points.