The Hampton Pirates remain undefeated in conference play as they slipped past the Coppin State Eagles, 56-54, at the Hampton Convocation Center.

In a first half that saw four ties and five lead changes, the Pirates led by as many as five points midway through the half when Matt Pilgrim connected on a 3-pointer, giving the HU a lead of 18-13 at the 10:22 mark. Over the next four minutes, however, the CSU Eagles outscored Hampton 9-to-2, taking a brief lead at 22-20 with 6:38 remaining in the game.

Following several lead changes, Brian Chesnut hit 1-of-2 free throws with eight seconds remaining, lifting the Pirates to a one-point, 28-27, halftime lead.

Although the Pirates led throughout the second half, their biggest advantage was only five points as senior guard Rashad West connected on the second of two free throws, giving HU a 56-51 lead.

Seemingly with the game in hand for the Pirates, the Eagles still didn’t give up, making for a dramatic conclusion to the game.

Eagle’s guard Vince Goldsberry hit a jumper to cut Hampton’s lead to three, 56-53, with six seconds on the clock. Following a Hampton turnover and foul, Coppin State’s Antwan Harrison missed his second free throw attempt as Hampton’s Theo Smalling grabbed the rebound and sealed the Pirate’s win.

Michael Freeman and West were the scoring leaders for the Pirates, netting 19 and 10 points respectively. Freeman was the game’s leader in rebounding with nine.

Tywain McKee led the Eagles with 15 points.

Hampton survived its closest game in league play this season, despite a less-than-impressive shooting night. The Pirates hit just 36 percent of their shots from the field and 50 percent (15-of-30) from the free throw line.

“We’re rushing our shots,” added Nickelberry. “But at the end of the day, our guys found a way to get the win. By two points or 10, a win is a win.”

The Eagles hit 40 percent of their shots from the field and was 76 percent from the charity stripe.

“That’s going to be a championship title fight,” said Pirate head coach Kevin Nickelberry. “Both teams think they have a chance to be champions in this league. It’s one of those games you circle on your calendar. It’s a game that gives us a chance to play at home against a very good team at home.”

“They (Coppin State) didn’t play like an 0-5 team. They played with emotion and like they wanted to knock us off,’ said Nickelberry. “We finally did respond.