Hitting the Hardwood, Part 2

The Shoremen Hoopsters open their season in two days at the first-ever Pride of Maryland Tournament, featuring eight of the nine Division III teams in the state. To view the schedule for the entire tournament, click here. Here are some other highlights of the Shoremen's schedule this season:

11/22 v. Salisbury - The battle for Eastern Shore supremacy is also the Shoremen's home opener. Oddly enough, because of the Pride of Maryland Tournament, there is a one-in-four chance that this will be the second game in three days between the Shoremen and the Sea Gulls. Washington has defeated Salisbury each of the past two seasons.

11/30 at Ursinus - The last time the Shoremen were in Collegeville, they saw the Bears rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half to come back for the win. Earlier last season, Travis Moore (pictured), converted a four-point play with less than three seconds remaining to defeat the eventual Centennial Conference Champions in Chestertown. Will the Shoremen again give the Bears, the heavy favorites to repeat as the league's top team, all they can handle?

12/18 at Navy - The Shoremen make one of their shortest road trips of the season as they head to Annapolis to take on the Division I Midshipmen. The two teams last met two years ago when Washington held a pair of early leads and was within 10 points at halftime before Navy pulled away for a 95-66 win.

1/7 v. Johns Hopkins - The Blue Jays will be looking for revenge after the Shoremen defeated Hopkins for the first time in over five years last February.

2/15 v. Swarthmore - The next-to-last game of the regular season could prove to be vital if the Shoremen are in the hunt for a Centennial Conference Playoff spot. The home court advantage in this series has been vital of late; over the past four years the Shoremen are 3-1 against the Garnet at home, but 0-4 on the road.