Marc Davis scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half--including seven in the last two minutes--to lift Maryland Eastern Shore to a 59-56 win over Howard Saturday at the William P. Hytche Center.

The Bison appeared to be in good shape at the beginning of the game when they took a 25-14 lead. But the Hawks closed with a 10-0 run during the last 3:28 of the second half to trail only, 25-24 at intermission.

The start of the second half turned into a seesaw battle with neither teams able to take control. Then Davis and Ed Tyson combined to score key points that helped the Hawks take their biggest lead at 48-39 with 3:05 remaining.

Howard rallied, however, behind Eugene Myatt, Curtis White and Anthony Thomas to stay within striking distance. Then Davis made sure that his team would not squander the opportunity as he converted on 8 of 9 from the free-throw line in the second half.

Myatt, who was shackled with foul trouble, led the Bison with 16, 10 coming in the second half while White tallied 12 of his season-high 15, all on 3-point baskets in the final 20 minutes.

Thomas, a freshman forward, started in place of injured Randy Hampton and responded with six points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Tyson, the MEAC’s leading scorer at over 19 points per game, contributed 18 for UMES which won its first conference game of the season and snapped a 12-game losing streak.