Ed Tyson put on a show for a national television audience and the rest of the Hawks stepped up to play solid defense as the Maryland Eastern Shore stunned Hampton 68-62 in what is arguably one of the biggest upset in the MEAC this season.

Tyson poured in 24 points while the under-sized and under-manned Hawks played with heart and out-rebounded the Pirates 41-24.

Fresh off a win over Howard, the Hawks played with confidence in front of a crowd of almost 3,000 fans. They slowed down a Pirates team that likes to run and forced their own pace, forcing Hampton into long range shots and jumpers and then capturing the rebound, limiting second chance points.

In fact, that is where UMES did the most damage. They limited Hampton on the boards despite being challenged. Hampton’s big men combined for less than 15 rebounds, while UMES seemed to get to every loose ball. Moore had seven boards while the team’s leading glass cleaner Denzel Jackson had nine. B.J. Nimocks had seven rebounds.

The Hawks scored 22 points on second chances and grabbed 23 offensive boards while the Pirates had just four second chance points and nine offensive boards.

"That was a great win," UMES coach Meredith Smith said. "The kids played tremendous defense. We talked about if we had a chance to win this game we had to rebound well, and that is exactly what we did."

The Hawks received offense from a limited bench as well. Freshmen Ishmawiyl McFadden posted a career-high 14 points while Jackson added eight and Marc Davis and Nimocks had seven each.

Tyson scored 11 of his 24 in the final 1:43 of play as UMES used an 11-4 run to seal the win.

Much to everyone’s surprise the 11th place Hawks stayed close with the Pirates in the first half. Hampton rallied by the end of the first half and extended the lead by seven, 33-26, by the halftime intermission.

The Hawks closed the Pirates lead in the second half with a late 16-4 run to cut it to 53-52 with just under six minutes to play. Tyson sank a pair of free throws with 1:43 remaining that would give the Hawks the lead 59-58. He would steal the ensuing inbound pass and convert a lay-in to make it 61-58. From there UMES would push their lead to six twice, including the final margin 68-62.

Rashad West led the Piratees with 19 points. Theo Smalling finished with 11 point and a team-high six rebounds.

UMES had not beaten Hampton since the 1999-00 season when they won, 59-58 on the road.

“It has been a long time since we beat Hampton," Smith said. "They are very well-coached so I think it is a testament to how focused and how well our kids are capable of playing when we play as a team."