Freshman guard Deron Powers forced overtime and led Hampton to its fourth straight win on Thursday, defeating Savannah State 71-68 at Tiger Arena.

Powers led the way with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting - including the layup that forced overtime - to go along with a career-high eight rebounds. Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) added 13 points and blocked four shots.

Junior guard Ramon Mercado, senior guard Aaron Austin (Newport News, Va.), and freshman guard Ke'Ron Brown each had 10 points in the win.

Savannah State led 56-50 with 3:59 to go in the second half after a 3-pointer from Preston Blackman, but the Pirates (9-13, 6-3 MEAC) scored the next six points to tie the game at 56-56 with 2:13 left after a layup from Maxwell.

Arnold Louis gave the Tigers a 58-56 lead with 1:55 left in the second half with a layup, before Powers attempted to tie the game with seconds to go with a jumper. His shot was blocked, but Powers grabbed the rebound and sank the layup to force the extra session.

Hampton was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor in overtime, taking a 60-58 lead on a Powers jumper at the 3:19 mark. The Pirates never looked back, leading by as many as six after a free throw from Austin with 21 seconds left put the Pirates up 70-64.

Savannah State (12-10, 6-2 MEAC) was just 2-for-9 from the floor in overtime.

The Pirates shot a season-best 50.0 percent (27-for-54) from the floor, despite hitting just three of their 11 3-pointers. Hampton also struggled from the free throw line, going just 14-for-24 (58.3 percent) from the charity stripe.

Hampton held a 39-34 edge on the glass and turned 17 Savannah State turnovers into 21 points.

The Tigers shot 36.4 percent (24-for-66) from the floor and hit six of their 24 3-pointers.

Louis led Savannah State with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

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