SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Hampton’s Kwame Morgan tallied 29 points, none bigger than the final three, as the junior guard knocked down a trey with 0.8 seconds left, to defeat Colorado State, 77-75, snapping the Rams’ six-game win streak. Colorado State trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, but fought back to take their first lead, 62-61, with 7:20 left to play in the contest. And with CSU clinging to a one-point lead, 75-74, with 7.3 seconds left, Morgan’s shot all but ended the game. The Rams’ ensuing inbound was deflected back out of bounds and when they got the ball in play, Travis Franklin’s desperation heave with 0.4 left came up well short.
The Rams committed a season-worst 18 turnovers, and the Pirates converted those extra possessions into 23 points. With the loss, Colorado State falls to 10-4 on the season while Hampton improves to 11-3.
MORGAN SHOOTS PIRATES PAST RAMS
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Hampton University junior guard Kwame Morgan hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining to lift the men’s basketball team past Colorado State 77-75 on Saturday in the final day of the Hilltop Classic at War Memorial Gym.
It was Morgan’s second game-winning trey of the season; he also hit the game-winner in the closing seconds on Dec. 22 against Liberty. Morgan (Largo, Md.) scored a career-high 29 points on 8-for-19 shooting and 6-for-14 from 3-point range in keying Hampton’s fourth win in its last five games. Hampton’s win also snapped Colorado State’s six-game winning streak.
Junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) scored 17 points and dished out a team-high four assists. Senior forward Charles Funches (Jersey City, N.J.) and junior guard Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) each added 10 points, with Funches adding a team-high eight rebounds.
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NEXT GAME: 1/8/2011, 4 p.m., Pirates (11-3, 1-0 MEAC) at Coppin State Eagles (4-7, 0-1), Baltimore, MD
