Hampton Pirates Outlast Howard on the Road

WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- The Hampton University men's basketball team withstood a late run from rival Howard Saturday night, escaping Burr Gymnasium with an 81-78 win.

The Pirates (15-11, 10-3 MEAC) picked up their fourth straight win.

Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led four Pirates in double figures with 19 points, while also grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brain Darden (Hampton, Va.) added 15 points.

Sophomore forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) each chipped in 10 points.

James Daniel had a chance to send the game to overtime with six seconds left, going to the free throw line to shoot three shots. But he missed the first free throw before hitting the next two to cut Hampton's lead to 79-78.

Darden answered with two free throws of his own with four seconds left to clinch the game.

When Maxwell slammed home a dunk with 4:27 left, it gave the Pirates a 73-60 lead and capped a 14-1 run. That run coincided with a cold spell from the Bison; before Tyler Stone hit a layup with 4:03 left, Howard went without a field goal since the 15:01 mark – when Daniel hit a trey to give Howard a 51-44 lead.

That basket punctuated a 14-5 run to open the second half for the Bison.

Howard also held control early in the first half, leading 15-8 at the 13:17 mark before the Pirates began chipping away at it. Daniel gave Howard a 24-19 lead at the 7:48 mark with a pair of free throws, but the Pirates answered with a 10-0 run to take a 29-24 lead with 6:11 left in the half after a layup from sophomore guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.).

Howard fought back to tie the score on three occasions in the first half, including 34-34 at the 1:58 mark. Hampton scored five of the next six points, taking a 39-35 lead with 56 seconds left in the half after a trey from senior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.).

Solomon Mangham hit two free throws with 31 seconds left to send the Pirates into the half with a 39-37 lead.

Maxwell had a team-high eight points at the break.

The Pirates shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the floor and out-rebounded Howard 39-33. Hampton also scored 26 points off of 20 Bison turnovers.

Howard (6-21, 4-8 MEAC) shot 44.4 percent (20-for-45) from the floor and hit seven of its 14 3-pointers. The Bison went just 31-for-50 (62.0 percent) from the free throw line.

Daniel led the Bison with 38 points.

The Pirates will have their road finale on Monday, when they take on Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Md. at 7:30 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.

Box Score

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS