HU Pirates Win In Overtime at Norfolk State

NORFOLK, Virginia  –  The Hampton University men's basketball team needed five extra minutes, but the Pirates still beat rival Norfolk State 79-73 Saturday evening in Echols Hall to further establish themselves in the upper half of the conference standings.

The Pirates (14-11, 9-3 MEAC) have won three straight games and six of their last seven.

Sophomore guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) led the Pirates with 14 points off the bench, while sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.), sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.), and senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) each added 11 points.

Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) scored on a floating layup to open overtime and give the Pirates a 68-66 lead, and then added free throws at the 4:09 mark of overtime to grow that lead to 70-66.

Darden added a steal and a breakaway layup to put the Pirates up 72-66, then he broke toward the basket again, got fouled, and hit a free throw to give Hampton a 73-66 lead with 3:23 left. Norfolk State's first basket of overtime didn't come until the 2:49 mark, when Marese Phelps hit a jumper to cut Hampton's lead to 73-68.

Maxwell gave the Pirates a cushion with a floater, putting Hampton up 75-69 with 1:10 left. Jamel Fuentes hit two free throws with 34.8 seconds left, cutting the lead to 75-71, before the Spartans started fouling.

Powers hit both free throws with 33 seconds left, putting Hampton up 77-71 before Pendarvis Williams hit two free throws to cut the lead to 77-73.

Darden answered with two free throws with 20.6 seconds left, putting Hampton up 79-73.

The Spartans only had one field goal in overtime.

Norfolk State led 12-5 with 16:14 left in the first half, before the Pirates went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 14-13 after a dunk from Brown at the 13:29 mark. Hampton's first lead came at the 6:56 mark, after junior center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) hit two free throws to put the Pirates up 20-18.

The teams then traded 3-pointers, and sophomore guard Miles Jackson (Silver Spring, Md.) hit two of them – the latter giving the Pirates a 26-24 lead with 4:42 left in the half. Powers hit a jumper at the 3:34 mark to give the Pirates a 28-24 lead.

Okoroba hit two more free throws with 1:42 left to give Hampton a 32-29 lead, but Norfolk State closed the half on a 6-1 run, taking a 35-33 lead into the locker room after a Riley Maye layup with a second left.

Powers gave the Pirates a 38-37 lead with a 3-point play with 17:56 left in the game, and after the Spartans tied the game at 40-40, the Pirates went on a 7-0 run to take a 47-40 lead after a trey from Meikle.

Powers made it a 9-0 run with a driving layup to give the Pirates a 49-40 lead.

Norfolk State answered with a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 50-47, before Okoroba hit a layup with 9:34 left to put the Pirates up 52-47, before the Spartans went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 54-54 on a Brandon Goode dunk with 6:40 left.

Williams hit a 3-pointer with 5:17 left to extend the run to 10-1 and give the Spartans a 57-54 lead. A Phelps trey at the 4:31 mark gave Norfolk State a 60-56 lead.

Kievyn Lila-St. Rose added a trey of his own with 3:56 left, putting the Spartans up 63-58.

The Spartans extended the lead to 65-58, before Maxwell hit two free throws with 2:31 left to cut the lead to 65-60. Brown followed with a spinning layup with 1:55 left to cut the Spartans' lead to 65-62, and Darden cut the lead to 65-64 with free throws with 1:20 to play.

Maxwell scored on a putback with 32.3 seconds left and was fouled, but he missed the free throw to leave the game tied at 66-66. The Pirates got the rebound, but Darden's 3-pointer fell short and Hampton couldn't convert the stickback.

The Pirates shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the floor and hit five of 21 3-pointers (23.8 percent). Hampton and Norfolk State each had 39 rebounds, but the Spartans turned the ball over 16 times to just 13 for the Pirates.

Norfolk State (14-11, 8-3 MEAC) shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the floor and only went 17-for-25 (68.0 percent) from the free throw line.

Williams led four Spartans in double figures with 18 points.

The Pirates will be in Washington, D.C. next Saturday to take on Howard at 7 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

 

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