Dayton Beach, Fla. - Hampton's Brandon Tunnel scored seven points in the final five minutes and Vincent Simpson's long 3-pointer with 1:02 to play helped secure the Pirates 53-51 comeback win over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats Saturday night.
The Pirates improved to 2-0 in the MEAC and 7-7 overall and the Wildcats dropped to 7-8 on the season and 1-1 in MEAC play after the tough home loss.
“Our guys just kept fighting tonight and they never give up, and that’s why we were able to battle back and win the game,” said Pirates head coach Kevin Nickelberry.
Bethune-Cookman went up by as many as nine points in the second half, finishing 9-of-21 from the floor (42.9 percent). The Pirates shot 40 percent from the floor on just 8-of-20 shots in the second half, proving to be just enough to pull out the victory.
“I feel that we did just enough in the second half tonight to pull out the win and get it done,” said Nickelberry. “Simpson hit some big shots for us down the stretch, and Brandon Tunnell did a great job of driving to the middle and getting to the free-throw line late in the game.”
The Wildcats finished the night shooting an impressive 43.9 percent from the floor connecting on 18-of-41 shots.
The Pirates were led by Simpson with a game-high 17 points. Tolson recorded 12 and Tunnell chipped in 10. Hampton scored 20 points off of 21 B-CU turnovers. The Pirates also scored 30 points off the bench and 16 points in the paint.
The Cats were lead by CJ Reed, who scored 12 points. Also scoring in double figures was Alexander Starling, (11) and John Holmes (10).
"Our inexperience was a major factor in the game," said Coach Clifford Reed. The Wildcats started four freshman and a sophomore and they played without injured Kene Anusionwu who has started the past nine games for B-CU.
"Their pressure defense speeds you up and gets you out your comfort zone," said Coach Reed. "We didn't do a good job against their pressure. And down the stretch we missed free-throws too. Our attention to detail and handling the basketball under pressure - we have to do a better job. We worked on it (against Hampton's press) for four days in practice. We knew how they were going to play."
The Pirates will travel to Tallassee, Fla. to face the Rattlers of Florida A&M on Monday night live on ESPNU with a tip-off time slated for 7:03 p.m. The Wildcats will host Howard beginning at 7:30 p.m.