The Hampton University Pirates fought back from a ferocious late rally by the William and Mary Tribe on Saturday, to secure a 70-63 victory at the HU Convocation Center.

Hampton, 6-6, led 26-25 at halftime but had to rely on the hot hands of senior guard Rashad West to seal the win.

West finished the contest with a game-high 29 points, hitting eight of 13 shots from the field and 10 of 13 shots from the free throw line. Eighteen of West’s points came in the second half of the game.

HU head coach Kevin Nickelberry said he was pleased with the play of his team on Saturday.

“I think it’s another quality win for the program,” said Nickelberry. “We’ve had success against the CAA this year. It’s a good conference. Especially to bounce back after being down by 10 points and see our guys continue fighting was good.”

“Before the game, I told West and (Jordan) Brooks that they had to be more aggressive,” added Nickelberry. “Both of them stepped up. I wanted them to focus on us being the better 40 minute team. I think they did that.”

In the opening half, W&M, 3-7, had the hot hands, scoring the game’s first 10 points before a Vincent Simpson layup gave the host Pirates their first points of the night five minutes into the game. Just four minutes later, the Pirates had knotted the game at 10-10 and they’d never look back. Hampton went on to lead by as many as six points in the half before settling for their two-point cushion at intermission.

The Pirates led comfortably throughout most of the second half, leading by 10 or more points most of the way. In fact, the Pirates led by a game high 21 points after Jordan Brooks hit an outside jumper with 7:42 to play, giving Hampton a 54-33 lead.

From there, it was easy-going for the Pirates, until the Tribe began cutting into their lead in the final minute of action. The Pirates' 21-point margin dwindled to just six points when W&M’s Kyle Carrabine hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds to play.

For the game, the Pirates had four players to score in double-figures. Joining West were Brooks, 12, Michael Freeman, 11, and Donte’ Harrison, 10.

The Tribe was led by David Schneider and Danny Sumner, who each scored 14 points. Laimis Kisielius added 13.

“I’m excited to get going in the conference,” said Nickelberry. “It’s good for us going in with a decent record. I believe the league has gotten a lot better. The league has a lot of new coaches and the league has gotten a lot of good non-conference victories. We must just go out and play each night.”

The Pirates open league play at home on Saturday, January 12 when Bethune-Cookman comes to the HU Convocation Center.