DOVER, Delaware – The Hampton University men's basketball team ran past Delaware State with a strong second half on Saturday, beating the Hornets 73-60 in Memorial Hall to remain undefeated in conference play.
The Pirates are now 8-8 overall and 3-0 in the MEAC.
Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the Pirates with 21 points – including a pair of highlight-reel dunks – and eight rebounds. Redshirt-freshman guard Lawrence Cooks (Charlotte, N.C.) added 13 points, going 5-for-7 from the floor and hitting both 3-pointers.
The Pirates led 5-2 early in the first half following a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.), before the Hornets went on a 5-2 run to tie the game at 7-7 at the 14:40 mark after a dunk from Kendall Gray.
A Hampton 7-1 run gave the Pirates a 14-8 lead with 10:14 left in the first half after a layup from Cooks. A layup from Maxwell at the 4:04 mark gave the Pirates a 23-14 lead. The Pirates kept a multiple-possession lead for the rest of the half, going into the locker room up 28-24.
Maxwell, Cooks, and Meikle each had six points at the break.
Maxwell's first dunk was a two-handed stuff on an alley-oop play with 19:08 left in the second half to give Hampton a 32-26 lead. Cooks hit a 3-pointer with 15:54 left in the second half to give the Pirates a 39-30 lead, and Maxwell followed with a windmill slam at the 15:37 mark to put Hampton up 41-30.
Sophomore forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) followed with a monster one-handed slam of his own with 15:16 left to put Hampton up 43-32. Cooks added a fastbreak layup with 14:21 left in the second half to give the Pirates a 46-34 lead.
Delaware State cut the lead to 50-41 with 10:54 left, but senior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) hit a corner trey at the 9:24 mark to put the Pirates up 53-41.
Hampton held control of the contest from then on, leading by double digits the rest of the way. The Pirates led by as many as 15 points on multiple occasions, including a 69-54 margin with 1:15 left to play after a jumper from Maxwell.
The Pirates shot 70.4 percent (19-for-27) from the floor in the second half.
The Pirates shot 52.7 percent (29-for-55) from the floor and hit four of their 11 3-pointers – as well as 11 of their 16 free throws. Hampton out-rebounded the Hornets 43-36, and the Pirates held a 40-24 edge in points in the paint.
Delaware State (4-11, 0-3 MEAC) shot just 27.9 percent (17-for-61) from the floor and went 0-for-17 from behind the arc.
Gray led the Hornets with 17 points.
The Pirates will return to the HU Convocation Center on Saturday to take on Coppin State at 6 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
COURTESY DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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