HAMPTON, Va. ? Freshman Christopher Tolson led the Pirates yet again with a team- and game-high 21 points as the Pirates snapped a three-game losing streak with a nail-biting 58-56 win over the Bulldogs of Yale University Tuesday night. With the win, the Pirates improved to 6-6 on the season while the Bulldogs dropped to 2-8.
“I am extremely happy with the play of the team tonight, as they battled back from 11 points down to come out on top,” said Pirates head coach Kevin Nickelberry.
“Tonight we had to press more than we have done all year because they were so big ... I think that they are the biggest team that we have played all year.”
The Bulldogs outshot the Pirates in the first half, 58.3 percent to 36.7 percent, to go into the half with a 33-30 lead. Yale made 14-of-24 shots from the floor and was led by Alex Zampier, who scored the high for the half with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Hampton made just 11-of-30 shots from the floor and was led by Tolson (Laurel, Md.), who scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds for the Pirates in the first half.
In the second half, the Pirates would tie the game up at 33 early in the second, but it was not enough to hold Yale, as they would go back up by as many as seven points. The Pirates were not going to be outdone, as they would then tie the game back up at 50 all with 5:09 left to play in the half and they took the lead with 4:58 reminding and never looked back.
Hampton shot only 28.1 percent from the floor in the second half, while the Bulldogs shot 40.9 percent from the floor. Hampton also scored 10 points off Yale’s 13 turnovers and 18 points off the bench to give them everything that they needed to score the 28 points in the second half to lift them to a victory.
The Pirates finished the game with three players in double figures led by Tolson, who closed the night with game-high 21 points, followed by freshman Kwame Morgan (Largo, Md.), who finished the night with 14 points and closed out with junior Michael Freeman (Alexandria, Va.), who dropped 13 points in the win for Hampton. Junior Theo Smalling (Tampa, Fla.) also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds on the night.
“The play of the freshmen was outstanding tonight, as Tolson and Morgan combined for 35 points and they play with no fear, just like they are upperclassmen and they are doing an outstanding job,” said Nickelberry.
Yale was led by Ross Morin, who finished the game with 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Pirates will be back in action on Saturday when they host Kent State University with a tip-off time slated for 6 p.m.