Pirates Trounce Bethune-Cookman
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Hampton ended its two-game skid in resounding fashion on Saturday, upending Bethune-Cookman 71-44 at Moore Gymnasium on Saturday.
After leading by five at the half, the Pirates opened the second half on a 13-0 run, going up 39-21 with 16:19 left to play after Brandon Tunnell sank a 3-pointer. After the Wildcats cut the lead to 48-32 on a Javoris Bryant free throw at the 11:54 mark, the Pirates (9-17, 5-8 MEAC) went on a 13-5 spurt, going up 61-36 after Kwame Morgan II sank a trey with 8:27 left to play.
Darrion Pellum led four Pirates in double figures with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while Michael Freeman added 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting and a 4-for-5 effort from the free throw line. Morgan added 11 points off the bench, and Charles Funches added 10 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the charity stripe.
Funches also had a team-high nine rebounds as the Pirates out-rebounded the Wildcats 37-26.
Bryant led Bethune-Cookman with 15 points and a team-high six rebounds, while Alexander Starling added 10 points. The Wildcats shot 34.1 percent (15-for-44) from the floor, making just one of their eight 3-point attempts.
The Wildcats (14-13, 6-7 MEAC) opened the game on a 6-0 run, and they led 13-11 midway through the first half after C.J. Reed hit a 3-pointer at the 9:58 mark. But Pellum answered with a 3-pointer of his own to give Hampton a 14-13 lead - one the Pirates wouldn't relinquish.
Hampton led 26-21 at the half.
Read the complete story at HamptonPirates.com.
Read more at BCUAthletics.com.
Murray State tops Bears in BracketBusters Saturday contest, 75-66
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State extended its winning streak to 17 straight games and 18 straight at home in front of 5,000 fans who packed the house for Saturday's BracketBusters matchup.
Ivan Aska scored 17 points to lead the Racers to a 75-66 victory over Morgan State on Saturday, extending the nation's longest winning streak to a school record 17 games, a streak shared by No. 18 Butler.
Aska was 7-of-10 from the field for the Racers (26-3, 16-0 Ohio Valley Conference), who last lost in December and set a new school record for consecutive wins in their 18th straight home victory.
Reggie Holmes, one of the nation's leading scorers, had a game-high 22 points with eight rebounds for the Bears (20-9, 11-1 MEAC), who were participating for the second straight year in the BracketBusters.
Kevin Thompson, who entered the ballgame as the No. 4 leading rebounder in the nation, was held in check. The sophomore finished with 4 points and was limited to six rebounds, well under his double-double average (12.5 pts & 11.9 rebs).
Despite trailing for most of the second half, Morgan State kept close, coming within four points after a traditional 3-point play from Troy Smith cut the Racers lead to 61-57 with 7:04 left. From that point, the Bears only managed to score one more basket for the rest of the game, and that wasn't until the final seconds of the game.
Read the complete story at MorganStateBears.com.
Hawks Win on Homecoming, Top Coppin State, 66-52
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks won their Homecoming game for the first time since 2002 with a 66-52 win over in-state rival Coppin State. With the win, UMES improves to 7-6 in the MEAC and moves to fourth place in the league.
Tyler Hines had an all-around game for UMES, posting a game-high 13 rebounds while adding nine points, four assists, a block and a steal. Tim Burns led UMES with 12 points while Kevin White chipped in 10 points and five assists.
The win marks the first on Homecoming for UMES since 2002 when they topped Morgan State 81-67. It also marks a sweep of Coppin State (7-18, 2-10 MEAC), a feat which has not occurred since that same season.
UMES led by as many as 20 with 12:30 to play in the second half. Coppin State mounted a fierce comeback but never cut the lead below six. The Eagles cut the lead in half to 10 on a free throw by Quinston Reggins. He then hit a three-pointer 13 seconds later to make it a seven point game. Reggins was fouled on the play and made the free throw to convert the four-point play and trail 55-49.
The Hawks then went on an 11 point run, getting lay-ups from White and Josh Bright both on fast breaks. Mark Robertson (Lakewood, N.J.) nailed a three from the corner at the 3:51 mark to put UMES up 13. Hines got a follow-up lay-in a minute later and Burns nailed a fade-away jumper with just under two minutes left to put UMES up 17. Reggins would score the last bucket, a three, with 1:40 to play, to account for the final 14-point margin.
Read the complete story at UMESHawks.com.
Read more at CoppinStateSports.com.
S.C. State Falls 67-52 to Georgia State in BracketBuster
ATLANTA, Ga.-Senior guard Brandon Smalls tossed in 14 points, while junior Carrio Bennett chipped in 10 as South Carolina State dropped a tough 67-52 to Georgia State on Saturday at GSU Sports Arena.
South Carolina State falls to 14-11 overall, meanwhile Georgia State improves to 12-17 overall.
Georgia State jumped out to a five point advantage in the first-half 26-21 off a layup by Trey Hampton at the 4:16 mark. Hampton nailed a pair of free-throws with 1:18 left in the half to extend the lead to nine, 32-23.
Hampton then closed out the half on a monster dunk with 0:07 seconds to give the Panthers an 11 point lead, 34-23.
Read the complete story at SCSUAthletics.com.
Spartans Balanced Attach Too Much for Rams, 74-50
NORFOLK, Va. - Michael Deloach led all scorers with 18 points and Brandon Wheeless scored 15 off the bench as Norfolk State won its third straight game and fifth out of its last six, 74-50 over Winston-Salem State on Saturday afternoon at Echols Hall.
Deloach and Wheeless were two of five Spartans in double figures. Kyle O'Quinn had 13 and Rob Hampton and Tim Zephyr added 10 apiece for NSU (8-17), which never trailed.
Paul Davis led WSSU (10-15) with 15 points, but was the only Ram in double figures.
The Spartans jumped out to a big early lead and never looked back. Deloach scored seven quick points as NSU outscored the Rams 12-2 over the first seven minutes. The lead would stretch to as many as 13 in the first half. The Rams cut it to five, 27-22, after a 3-pointer by Andrew Jackson, but the Spartans scored the next four points to take a 31-22 advantage into halftime.
NSU would lead by at least eight points the entire second half. After a jumper by Davis got WSSU within 47-39 with 9:29 left in the game, the Spartans put it away with a 13-3 run over the next four minutes. Deloach hit four free throws, O'Quinn had four points
and Wheeless hit a 3-pointer in the spurt.
Read the complete story at NSUSpartans.com.
Read more at WSSURams.com.
Rattlers Move Past Bison in Overtime, 72-65
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Chris Walker's two free throws with 0.6 seconds left helped seal a 72-67 overtime victory for the Florida A&M Rattlers over the Howard Bison in MEAC men's play Saturday night in the Al Lawson Center.
FAMU (7-19, 4-9 in MEAC) was led by guard Rasheem Jenkins, who scored a game-high 15 points. Senior Brandon Bryant added 14 points and Yannick Crowder tossed in 12 points. Freshman Amin Stevens led the Rattlers with eight rebounds, followed by Crowder with seven.
Howard (7-21, 6-7 in MEAC) was sparked by Kyle Riley's 15 points, followed by a trio of players - Adam Walker, Paul Kirkpatrick and Curtis White - with 10 points apiece. Walker also finished with a game-high 14 rebounds.
Riley's jumper with 31 seconds left gave the Bison a 59-58 lead, before Brandon Bryant sank the first of two foul shots with 10 seconds left to knot the count at 59-59. Bryant's second shot rimmed off sending the game to an extra frame.
The Rattlers outscored the visiting Bison, 13-8 in the overtime, building a six-point lead on a Jenkins three-pointer, 66-60, with 44 seconds left.
Read the complete story at FAMURattlersports.com.
Read more at Howard-Bison.com.