Second-Half Comeback Lifts Pirates Over Bethune-Cookman
HAMPTON, Va. - The Hampton University men's basketball team needed a second-half comeback Monday night against Bethune-Cookman, but that's exactly what the Pirates got as they stormed back to beat the Wildcats 75-66 at the HU Convocation Center.
The Pirates (14-15, 11-4 MEAC) have won nine of their last 11 games and three in a row.
Deron Powers led the Pirates with 17 points, while Emmanuel Okoroba and Wesley Dunning each added 11 points.
B-CU (12-18, 7-8 MEAC) cut Hampton's lead to 62-61 with 5:21 to play on an Adrian Coleman layup, before the Pirates extended that lead to 65-61 after a pair of Powers free throws with 4:36 remaining.
The Wildcats then made it a one-possession game with 4:21 left, but Dwight Meikle hit two free throws with 2:17 to go to give the Pirates a 67-63 lead. Aaron Austin then hit two free throws with 0:00 left to put Hampton up 69-63.
Dunning gave Hampton a 71-63 lead with 1:31 left with a pair of free throws, then Ke'Ron Brown hit a free throw with 1:09 left to put Hampton up 72-63.
As the Pirates continued hitting free throws in the closing minutes, the Wildcats went cold from the floor; B-CU went nearly five minutes between field goals, before a 3-pointer from Ricky Johnson cut Hampton's lead to 73-66 with 48 seconds left.
Powers put the game away with 27 seconds left, hitting two free throws to put Hampton up 75-66.
The Pirates led 9-8 after a Powers layup with 15:15 left in the first half, before a 6-2 Bethune-Cookman run gave the Wildcats a 14-11 lead with 12:37 left in the half after a layup from Coleman. Hampton answered with a 6-2 run of its own, taking a 17-16 lead after a layup from Austin at the 10:36 mark.
The Wildcats went on an 8-2 run to take a 24-19 lead with 7:13 left in the half after an Alex Smith layup, then led 30-25 after a jumper from Allen Dempster with 5:13 left in the half. Four straight Hampton points - including a behind-the-back dunk from Maxwell - cut the lead to 30-29 at the 4:21 mark.
B-CU closed the half on an 8-3 run to take a 38-32 lead into the half.
The Wildcats opened the second half on a 7-2 run, taking a 45-34 lead on a Smith layup with 17:14 remaining. Brown stopped the run with a pair of free throws at the 16:55 mark, cutting the lead to 45-36.
Those free throws kicked off a 7-2 Pirates run, as Powers hit a 3-pointer to cut the Wildcats' lead to 47-41 with 15:16 left to play.
After the Wildcats took a 49-41 lead on a Dempster layup with 14:44 left, the Pirates scored seven unanswered points, cutting that lead to 49-48 after Dunning nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 11:58 to play.
Dunning then gave the Pirates a 50-49 lead with a putback with 11:15 left.
Javoris Bryant stopped the run with a jumper with 10:46 to go to give B-CU a 51-50 lead, but Powers gave the lead right back to the Pirates with a layup off the glass with 10:19 to play.
Ramon Mercado then hit a trey with 9:51 left to put the Pirates up 55-51.
All told, since B-CU took a 49-41 lead, the Pirates went on a 16-4 run, taking a 57-53 lead with 9:11 to play after a Dunning layup.
Coleman led B-CU with 15 points.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.bcuathletics.com.
NSU Clinches Share of 1st Ever MEAC Regular Season Title with 69-58 Win over FAMU
NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team clinched at least a share of its first-ever MEAC regular season title and also locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament Monday night with a 69-58 victory over Florida A&M at Joseph Echols Hall.
NSU started and finished the game well, but in between the Rattlers made it interesting, getting to within one early in the second half after the Spartans had been up by as much as 18 in the first. Up by just four with less than nine minutes remaining, though, NSU used a 9-0 run to take a 13-point lead, and Florida A&M got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Rashid Gaston, named MEAC Rookie of the Week earlier in the day, had a big game for the Spartans. The rookie set a new career high with 20 points on 8-of-12 shots and tallied his second straight double-double with 10 boards.
Pendarvis Williams also played a big part in the victory, going for 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting with eight rebounds. Brandon Goode was the only other player in double figures, going for 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Jamie Adams led Florida A&M with 13 points, all in the first half when he shot 5-of-8 to help the Rattlers erase an 18-point deficit.
The Rattlers found themselves there after NSU had jumped all over them early on, building a 13-5 lead thanks to a slump-busting eight points from senior Rob Johnson. Five points from Gaston and a pair of fastbreaks from senior Kris Brown highlighted an 11-2 run that eventually pushed the lead to the largest of the game, 26-8, with 9:48 left.
Adams hit a deep 3-pointer from the right wing to break that Spartan scoring streak and start a 10-0 run for the Rattlers. Goode finally ended the drought for NSU with a 3-point play. However, after the Spartans went up by 13, 31-18, with 5:04 to go thanks to another basket by Goode, FAMU ended the half on an 11-2 run. The Rattlers went into the break trailing by just four, 33-29.
Florida A&M quickly cut the deficit to one, 34-33, when Markee Teal had the ball slapped away but bounce right back to him off the backboard for an easy two. The Spartans eventually went up by nine, 48-39, when Williams came off a screen for a trey from the left corner and then finished a 3-point play on the next possession.
The Rattlers chipped away at the lead, getting to within four, 53-49, with 8:28 left after a layup from Walter Davis. Williams hit another 3-pointer and then sank a fadeaway baseline jumper for a 60-49 advantage at the 6:29 mark. Junior Marese Phelps finished a 3-point play, and Gaston sank another bucket with 2:14 left to put NSU up by 13 with a little more than two minutes to go.
Despite having numerous opportunities late in the game thanks to its offensive rebounding, Florida A&M was unable to get any closer than eight points in the last seven minutes of the contest.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.famuathletics.com.
Armstrong Scores 22 in Eagles Victory Over UMES
BALTIMORE - Andre Armstrong scored a game-high 22 points, including two crucial free throws with 18 seconds to play, leading Coppin State to a 63-60 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday at the Physical Education Complex.
With the Eagles clinging to a 61-60 lead, Armstrong calmly nailed two free throws with 18 seconds left to push the Coppin State lead to 63-60.
Kevin Mayes missed a jumper for UMES with nine seconds to play, but the Hawks retained possession after a scramble for the loose ball. Following a Coppin State timeout, Mays missed another layup and Sterling Smith grabbed the rebound for Coppin State.
Coppin State (7-23, 4-11 MEAC) was solid on the defensive end holding the Hawks to 37.7 (23-of-61) percent shooting from the field and 26.1 (6-of-23) percent from the three-point line for the game.
Armstrong was 4-for-8 from the three-point line and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line to lead the Eagles. Michael Murray chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds, while Collin Johnson contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
UMES (2-24, 2-13 MEAC) was led by Troy Snyder who posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Louis Bell added 17 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the three-point line, while Mays finished with 12 points.
Leading at halftime 31-26, the Eagles continued to score to keep their lead. Armstrong connected on a three-pointer to increase the Eagles lead to 36-29 with 16:55 remaining in the second period.
Following a layup by Mays, Johnson hit another three-pointer for Coppin State to increase the lead to 39-31 with 15:59 to play in the second half.
A three-pointer by Taariq Cephas gave Coppin State a 42-34 lead with 14:12 left in the game, but the Hawks responded with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 42-40 with 12:09 to play.
Murray ended the run with a three-pointer, but back-to-back three-pointers by Bell gave UMES a 46-45 lead with 9:42 remaining in the game.
The Eagles used a 6-2 run to regain the lead at 51-48, but Bell connected on a three-pointer to tie the contest at 51-51 with 5:59 to play.
Armstrong put the Eagles ahead to stay at 54-51 with a three-pointer with 4:33 left in the second half.
Johnson made one of two free throws with 3:53 to play extending the lead to 55-51, but Bell drilled a three-pointer with 3:36 to play that cut the lead to 55-54.
Coppin State led 31-26 at halftime as Armstrong scored eight points, but led by as many as 14 points in the first half.
Armstrong gave Coppin State a 31-17 lead with 4:56 to play, but the Hawks answered with a 9-0 run to close the first half to cut the lead to 31-26 at the break.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.umeshawks.com.
Strong First Half Propels Eagles To Win Over SCSU
DURHAM, N.C. - An impressive first half shooting effort by North Carolina Central University in its home finale helped lift the Eagles to a 62-54 victory over the Bulldogs of South Carolina State on a Monday night inside of McDougald-McLendon Gym.
NCCU (21-8, 14-1 MEAC) came out full throttle, opening the game on a 10-2 run, forcing SC State interim head coach Murray Garvin to take a 30-second timeout just four minutes into the contest.
The Bulldogs quickly responded with a run of their own, as a Luka Radovic jump shot silenced the crowd, tying the game at 10-10 with 14:48 left in the first frame.
The Eagles pushed their lead back up to five, led by Drimir Ferguson and Davron Williams, who provided a quick spark off the bench.
South Carolina State's Adama Adams drilled back-to-back threes to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the ball game 18-17 with 9:45 left to go in the first half.
NCCU once again over-powered the Bulldogs, highlighted by three consecutive dunks, sparking a 17-7 run over the final 9:11 of the half to help the maroon and gray take a 34-22 lead into the locker room.
The Eagles shot an impressive 55.6 percent from three point range in the first half, most notably Jeremy Ingram went 2-for-3 from the perimeter and sparked the NCCU run to end the half.
Stanton Kidd picked up exactly where he left off in the second frame, scoring the first three points to keep the Eagle advantage at 12 at 37-25.
A Radovic three-pointer from the top of the key helped the Bulldogs trim the lead to eight at 40-32 with 16:27 left in the ball game.
After a Devin Joint layup made it 47-40 with 7:38 to go, Karamo Jawara dropped in a layup to thwart the Bulldog rally pushing the margin back to nine.
Four minutes later, Joint scored another layup to cut the Eagle advantage to nine at 54-45, Jawara stepped up again to spread the margin back to 11 at 56-45 with 3:15 to go.
The final nail in SC State's coffin came with 1:02 to go on a Kidd dunk that put the Eagles up for good at 60-49 sending the ruckus crowd into a frenzy, and sealing the 62-4 win.
Two NCCU student-athletes contributed with double figures as Kidd finished the night with 20 points and seven assists, and Ingram chipped in with 14 points.
South Carolina State (5-23, 1-14 MEAC) was led by Devin Joint ending the night with 14 points and nine rebounds.
For the complete story, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or www.scsuathletics.com.