Pirates Falter Late, Fall to Morgan State
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men’s basketball team led at the half on Monday evening against Morgan State, but the Bears mounted a strong second half and handed the Pirates an 80-71 loss at the HU Convocation Center.
After starting MEAC play 3-0, the Pirates (8-10, 3-2 MEAC) have lost back-to-back conference games.
Senior forward Du’Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led three Pirates in double figures with 20 points and 12 rebounds, going 7-for-17 from the floor. Sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) added 12 points, and sophomore guard Breon Key (Hampton, Va.) chipped in 10 points.
Morgan State jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, and the Bears led 11-4 with 15:10 left in the first half after a layup from Justin Black. The Pirates scored the next seven points, tying the game at 11-11 at the 13:17 mark after a trey from Key.
Morgan State jumped back out into the lead, and the Bears took a 25-16 lead with 8:03 left in the half, culminating a 14-5 run with a trey from Black. Hampton went on a 12-3 run to tie the game at 28-28 at the 5:16 mark after a slam from Maxwell.
Ian Chiles answered with a dunk of his own to put Morgan State up 30-28 with 2:45 left in the half, before the Pirates went on a 6-1 spurt to take a 34-31 lead with 28 seconds left in the half – following a put back, two-handed slam from Maxwell.
Black followed with a dunk of his own with four seconds left, sending the Pirates into the half with a 34-33 lead.
Read the full story at HamptonPirates.com.
Hornets Slow Start Too Much to Overcome in Loss to MEAC Champs
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Delaware State trimmed a 21-point second half deficit to seven before running out of gas and time in a 66-55 loss to defending MEAC champ North Carolina A&T in a nationally televised (ESPNU) MEAC men's basketball contest this evening.
The Hornets dropped their fourth straight game to fall to 4-14 overall and 0-6 in the MEAC. The last time DSU lost its first six league contests was during the 1999-2000 season.
The loss also overshadowed a school record-tying eight blocks by Kendall Gray. It marks the second time that Gray has reached the mark in his career. Two others also share the blocks record.
Gray also had nine points and nine rebounds in the contest.
The Hornets never led in the game. The score was 5-5 when the Aggies began to take control.
North Carolina A&T outscored the Hornets 21-8 over the next 11 minutes, and opened up a 26-13 lead on a three-pointer by Jeremy Underwood with 5:22 left in the first half. The Aggies nailed three three-pointers, including two by Underwood, and were five-for-five at the free throw line during the stretch.
Read more at DSUHornets.com.
Spartans Bounce Back with 83-71 Win over Coppin State
NORFOLK, Va. – Malcolm Hawkins scored 22 points and was one of five Spartans to reach double figures as the Norfolk State men’s basketball team took care of Coppin State, 83-71, Monday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
Two days after watching their 23-game MEAC win streak come to a close, the Spartans began a new one thanks to an even 50 percent shooting night and their dominance down low. NSU improved to 5-1 in conference play and 11-8 overall, while the Eagles dropped to 6-12 and 3-2 in conference play.
Hawkins hit 8-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, and also led NSU with seven rebounds while adding four assists and two steals. On the night, the Spartans finished with a 42-31 advantage on the glass and also outscored Coppin State, 46-16, in points in the paint.
NSU led by as much as 22 in the second half after going into the intermission ahead by nine. The second half featured back-and-forth runs, and the Eagles got as close as 10 late in the game before coming up short.
The Spartans connected on 31-of-62 from the floor, while Coppin State hit 23-of-59 (39.0 percent). The Eagles shot 9-of-27 from 3-point range, with six of those treys coming in the first half.
Read more at NSUSparatans.com.