The Aggies failed on another opportunity to string together back-to-back wins on Monday evening. They lost to conference foe University of Maryland Eastern Shore 62-52 at Corbett Sports Center.

Their familiar offensive struggles returned Monday night as they shot just 30.4 percent from the field.

“I thought we were past this,” said a disappointed head coach Jerry Eaves. “The players in my locker room have to grow up. Our effort and our approach to the game is not where it needs to be.”

The Aggies stayed close for most of the game by playing solid defense. UMES shot just 39.3 percent from the field, but the Aggies were unable to take advantage. A&T had an 11-minute scoring drought at one point.

The team shot just 7-32 from three-point range for the game and didn’t get much production from their big men. Centers Thomas Coleman and Robert Johnson combined for zero points while taking only three shot attempts in a total of 45 minutes of play.

They also lost the physical battle on the glass. As has been the case in all their losses, the A&T men suffered from bad shooting and poor rebounding against UMES.

Eaves said that the second part of his team growing up is to out-rebound someone.

“That is the physical part of the game. Rebounding the basketball is a commitment. It means you’re willing to sacrifice your body to win games. We have to get to that point,” Eaves said.

The game was a letdown after the 65-54 victory over Delaware State. In that game, the Aggies shot 56.1 percent for that game and went 57.1 percent from behind the three-point arc. They had four starters to score in double figures, including Coleman who posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Forward Robert Johnson was a perfect 6-6 from the field and scored a team-high 17 points.

The Aggies visit Howard Saturday at 4 p.m..

• Prince Askew