Hampton Pirates Bounce Back Battle of the Bay Win

HAMPTON, Virginia -- With first place on the line Saturday evening at the HU Convocation Center, the Hampton University men's basketball team defeated rival Norfolk State 86-76 in the first installment of this season's Battle of the Bay.

The Pirates (12-8, 8-1 MEAC) have won seven of their last eight games.

Reginald Johnson, Jr. led four Pirates in double figures with 29 points, going 10-for-20 from the floor, while also dishing out a team-high five assists. Quinton Chievous and Brian Darden each added 16 points, with Chievous grabbing seven boards and doling out four assists.

Lawrence Cooks dropped 12 points, and Dionte Adams grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Pirates shot 44.1 percent (26-for-59) from the floor – including a 46.7 percent clip (14-for-30) in the first half – and made eight of their 21 3-pointers (38.1 percent). Hampton was also 26-for-34 (76.5 percent) from the free throw line.

Chievous gave the Pirates a 54-47 lead with a layup with 15:54 remaining in the second half, before the Spartans responded with nine unanswered points to take a 56-55 lead after a three from Jeff Short at the 10:42 mark.

From there, the two teams traded the lead back and forth on six straight possessions – before Chievous put the Pirates back on top 61-60 with 8:03 left to play. That ignited an 8-0 Hampton run, putting the Pirates up 67-60 after a Johnson fastbreak layup at the 6:10 mark.

Norfolk State never got any closer than within seven points for the rest of the game. In the game's final 2:23, the Pirates – who struggled at the free throw line in Monday's loss to South Carolina State – went 8-for-10 from the free throw line.

Chievous added a two-hand slam with 23 seconds left, putting Hampton up 83-70.

Norfolk State held an early 27-20 lead, taking that advantage with 6:03 left in the first half after a trey from Short. But the Pirates answered with a 20-4 run, taking a 40-31 lead with 1:30 left in the half after a fastbreak layup from Johnson.

Johnson later hit three free throws with 48 seconds left to put Hampton up 43-33.

The Spartans scored the next four points to cut the lead to 43-37, before Darden sank a long three near the buzzer to send the Pirates into the break with a 46-37 lead.

Darden, who hit four 3-pointers, had 14 points at the half.

Norfolk State (10-13, 6-2 MEAC) shot 39.4 percent (26-for-66) from the floor, but made just four of 20 3-pointers (20.0 percent).

Short came off the bench to lead four Spartans in double figures with 23 points.

The Pirates will play host to Washington Adventist on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in their non-conference finale. 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.

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