Pirates Drop Bracketbusters Matchup To Saint Peter's
HAMPTON, Va. -Hampton went cold in the second half on Saturday afternoon in its ESPN Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters contest against Saint Peter's, falling 66-59 at the HU Convocation Center.
Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell, the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, led the Pirates (11-15) with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Ramon Mercado and freshman guard Deron Powers each added 11 points.
Powers also dished out four assists.
The Pirates shot 40.4 percent (21-for-52) from the floor, despite shooting just 34.8 percent (8-for-23) in the second half. Hampton made just three of its 13 3-pointers (23.1 percent) and went 14-for-19 (73.7 percent) from the free throw line.
The Pirates out-rebounded the Peacocks 37-33.
Saint Peter's (9-18) shot 41.8 percent (23-for-55) from the floor and hit five of 14 3-pointers (35.7 percent). The Peacocks were also 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) from the charity stripe.
Desi Washington led Saint Peter's with 26 points.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com
Eagles Use Balanced Attack to Top Howard
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Junior Michael Murray led four players in double figures with 16 points and Coppin State ended a seven-game losing streak with a 63-56 MEAC victory over Howard on Saturday at Burr Gymnasium.
Murray was 7-of-16 from the floor and also added nine rebounds to lead the Eagles to their first victory since an overtime victory at Hampton on Jan. 21.
Coppin State (6-22, 3-10 MEAC) also received 14 points each from Patrick Cole, Taariq Cephas and Andre Armstrong.
Howard (6-22, 3-11 MEAC) was led by Mike Phillips who had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Tre Lee and Anton Dickerson each had 11 points for the Bison.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.howard-bison.com
NSU Hangs On to Top Delaware State, 60-56
DOVER, Del. - As has been the case for most of conference play, Norfolk State saw a double-digit second-half lead dwindle down to low single digits, or as was the case of Saturday afternoon down to zero.
Against Delaware State at Memorial Hall in the last road game of the year, the Spartans did just enough in the end to exorcise some state of Delaware demons and escape with a 60-56 win.
The victory broke a seven-game, nine-year losing streak at Memorial Hall, the smallest gym in the conference but one of the toughest to play in because of its cozy setting.
At 13-0 in the MEAC, NSU is one of just five schools left in the nation undefeated in conference play after Miami fell on Saturday. NSU won its 12th in a row, now the fifth-longest win streak in the nation. NSU also improved to 18-10 overall on the year.
Those win streaks almost came to an end despite NSU leading by 15 at the half and by as much as 17 early in the second half. It marked the 12th time in 13 conference games NSU had a double-digit second-half lead. The Spartans, though, could not handle the full-court pressure the Hornets came out of the locker room with after the intermission.
Delaware State (12-14, 7-5 MEAC) tied it up twice with less than eight minutes left and got to within two with 32.1 seconds to go when Amere May hit a deep 3-pointer from the right wing. Pendarvis Williams missed the front end of a 1-and-1 on NSU's next possession, and May launched a 3-pointer with six seconds to go from several feet beyond the top of the arc.
Williams led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while junior Brandon Goode tallied 16 points on 7-of-11 field goal attempts with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Tyshawn Bell (13 points) and Marques Oliver (12 points, 11 rebounds) paced the way for the Hornets.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.dsuhornets.com
Coleman Leads Bethune-Cookman Past South Carolina State
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Adrien Coleman posted a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds while Kevin Dukes added 19 as Bethune-Cookman fended off South Carolina for an 85-75 victory Saturday in Moore Gym.
Leading 42-28 at halftime, the Wildcats (11-16 overall, 6-6 MEAC) used a 14-2 outburst in the first two minutes of the second half to take a 56-30 lead on a Paul Scotland three-pointer with 18 minutes to play. Dukes made three three-pointers during that stretch.
The Bulldogs (5-20,1-1) fought back, getting as close as 79-75 on a Khalif Toombs three-pointer with 58 seconds to play.
Dukes hit two free throws to put the Wildcats up by six, then Coleman finished a three-point play with 29 seconds left that clinched the Wildcats' seventh straight victory over the Bulldogs.
Toombs scored 24 for the Bulldogs, while Matthew Hezekiah recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds and Daryl Palmer added 13.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.scsuathetlics.com
Bears Roar Back Against High Point, 75-68
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Junior Justin Black scored 20 points and sophomore Blake Bozeman had 13 to lead the Bears to a 75-68 victory over non-conference opponent High Point on Saturday night before a packed house at the Millis Center.
With the win the Bears improved to 4-1 in ESPN Bracketbuster games since 2009, and snapped the Panthers 7-game winning streak.
Tonight was a close and competitive game for Morgan State and it wasn't until the last 8 minutes of the contest that they were able to completely turn the tables on the Panthers.
High Point's John Brown scored a pair of baskets to lead the Panthers on an 8-0 run and its largest lead of the night at 57-43 with 9:30 remaining.
However, the Bears responded with a surge of its own.
Black scored on a layup to give the Bears its first field goal in almost four minutes, it was a basket that ended up sparking an electric 25-7 run. Bozeman caught fire hitting three 3-pointers during the stretch and the Bears took its first lead of the night (65-64) when redshirt-junior Ian Chiles dropped in a lefty hook with 2:35 to go.
Morgan State scored 46 points in the second half and completed the night by outscoring High Point 32-11.
Bozeman not only provided scoring punch for the Bears tonight, but he also led the way on the boards by collecting a career-high 12 rebounds.
John Brown led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting for the Panthers. Allan Cheney chipped in 16 points with nine rebounds.
For the complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com
Tigers Pull Away From Campbell
BUIES CREEK, N. C.- Leading by one point, Savannah State finished the game with a 8-3 run and went on to defeat Campbell 69-63 in the Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters played at Gore Arena.
The Tigers led 61-60 with 1:59 left but scored six straight points during the game-clinching run to put the Camels away.
A layup by Rashad Hassan gave SSU a 63-60 advantage but Campbell's Trey Freeman hit a free throw to cut Savannah State's lead to 63-61.
SSU answered with six points as Preston Blackman hit a jumper followed by two free throws each by Arnold Louis and Khiry White.
White's free throws gave SSU a 69-61 lead with 26 seconds remaining but Andrew Ryan hit a layup for the Camels with 13 seconds on the clock for the final points of the contest.
The game was the first of a four-game road trip for the Tigers as well as their fifth victory in a row.
Hassan came off the bench to lead the way with 19 points while fellow reserve Deven Williams added 14. Blackman scored 13 points while Louis added 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.
The Tigers (17-10) shot 52.1 percent from the field and out-rebounded Campbell 33 to 31.
Reco McCarter had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Campbell (12-17).
The Camles shot 42.3 percent from the field.
For the complete story, visit www.ssuathletics.com
Eagles Gut Out Victory Over Aggies To Earn Season Sweep
DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central's stingy second-half defense along with clutch free-throw shooting was just enough for the maroon and gray to earn the 51-47 victory over the Aggies of North Carolina A&T inside a sold out McDougald-McLendon Gym on Saturday afternoon.
Stanton Kidd and Jeremy Ingram both scored 14 points apiece to lead the way for the maroon and gray as Kidd notched six boards, while Ingram pulled down five.
NC A&T (13-14, 6-7) was led by Jeremy Underwood finished with 11 points, but the Eagles turned the ball over 19 times in the win.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com or www.nccueaglepride.com