Second Half Play Propels Hornets Past Aggies, 53-44
Dover, Del. - Delaware State shook off a slow start to outlast North Carolina A&T 53-44 in a MEAC men's contest in Memorial Hall Monday night. The Hornets won for the fourth time in the last five games to improve to 10-11 overall and 5-2 in the MEAC.
The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Aggies, who fell to 11-12 and 4-4. The Hornets also defeated North Carolina A&T for the second straight year.
Amere May led Delaware State with a season-high 15 points, 11 coming in the second half. May's previous high this season was 14 points in two games.
Jean Louisme led three NCA&T players in double figures with 16 points. Lamont Middleton added 12 points, while Jeremy Underwood came off the bench to score 10 for the Aggies.
North Carolina A&T's Austin Witter led all players with 12 rebounds.
The Aggies scored the first seven points of the game, while holding DSU scoreless until a lay-up by Tahj Tate (8 points) with 14:04 left in the first half.
DSU trailed by as many as seven in the opening period but pulled to within 22-21 at the break.
The Hornets did not take their first lead of the game until Casey Walker hit a three-pointer to put DSU ahead 24-22 with 18:38 left to play.
The score was 33-33 when Marques Oliver hit a jumper and Casey Walker knocked down a three-pointer on consecutive possessions to put the Hornets ahead for good.
Delaware State hit 5 of 6 free throws in the last 53 seconds to seal the win.
The Hornets outscored the Aggies 32-22 in the second half.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com.
PIRATES RALLY, PICK UP THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
BALTIMORE, Md. - The Hampton University men's basketball team rallied to pick up its third straight win on Monday night, beating Coppin State 59-52 at the Physical Education Complex.
Deron Powers, the reigning MEAC Rookie of the Week, led the Pirates (8-13, 5-3 MEAC) with 14 points and five assists, while Du'Vaughn Maxwell added 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
The Eagles led by as many as six in the second half, taking a 42-36 lead with 12:50 to go on a Patrick Cole jumper. The Pirates scored the next six points, tying the game at 42-42 at the 9:51 mark after a layup from Aaron Austin.
Andre Armstrong gave Coppin State (5-19, 2-7 MEAC) a 48-44 lead with 7:35 to play with a free throw, but the Pirates answered with a 6-0 run to take a 50-48 lead at the 6:09 mark after Powers hit a pair of free throws. Though the Eagles tied the game at 50-50 on two Armstrong free throws with 6:04 left, Hampton took the lead for good with 5:09 to play after a layup from Wesley Dunning.
A Powers jumper with 1:05 to play put the Pirates up 58-52, and he added a free throw with 17 seconds left to push the game to its final margin.
The Pirates jumped out to a 12-6 lead to open the game, thanks to a 3-pointer from Dwight Meikle. But Coppin State answered with a 17-4 run to take a 23-19 lead at the 6:55 mark of the first half after Michael Murray hit a free throw.
Zachary Burnham hit two free throws at the 4:09 mark to put Coppin State up 29-22, but the Pirates closed the half on a 7-1 run to go into the locker room down 30-29 at the break.
Armstrong led three Eagles in double figures with 15 points.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com.