Balanced Effort Leads Pirates Past FAMU
HAMPTON, Va. -Hampton withstood a late Florida A&M rally on Saturday evening, beating the Rattlers 77-68 at the HU Convocation Center.
The Pirates (13-15, 10-4 MEAC) have won eight of their last 10 games.
Junior guard Ramon Mercado led the Pirates with 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting, while freshman guards Deron Powers and Dwight Meikle each added 16 points.
Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell chipped in 12 points.
After Maxwell gave the Pirates a 5-2 lead at the 17:58 mark of the first half, Florida A&M went on an 11-0 run to take a 13-5 lead with 11:49 left in the half after a layup from Walter Davis. The Pirates then went on a 13-2 run of their own, taking an 18-15 lead after a pair of Maxwell free throws at the 4:59 mark.
Jamie Adams tied the game at 21-21 with a free throw with 3:21 left in the half, but Hampton closed the half on a 9-2 run. Meikle gave the Pirates a 23-21 lead with 3:09 left in the half, and his free throws with three seconds left sent Hampton into the locker room up 30-23.
Mercado led all scorers with nine points in the first half.
FAMU shot just 25.0 percent (9-for-36) from the floor in the first half.
The Pirates opened the second half on a 12-5 run to take a 42-28 lead with 16:06 left to play after Maxwell converted a layup. The run ultimately extended to 15-7, as Hampton took a 45-30 lead with 14:14 left after another Maxwell layup.
D'Andre Bullard hit a jumper with 11:55 to play to cut Hampton's lead to 48-37, before Powers hit two free throws with 11:30 left to put the Pirates up 50-37.
A 3-pointer from senior guard Wesley Dunning (Washington, D.C.) gave the Pirates a 55-39 lead with a trey at the top of the key with 10:50 left, then Mercado slammed down a transition dunk with 10:04 to play to give the Pirates a 57-39 lead.
Mercado then capped a 9-0 run with a breakaway layup with 9:44 left to put Hampton up 59-39.
Powers added a jumper at the 7:31 mark to give the Pirates a 65-45 lead, but the Rattlers scored the next eight points to cut the lead to 65-55 after a Markee Teal jumper with 5:04 to play.
Mercado hit a layup with 4:57 left to stop the run and put Hampton up 67-55, kicking off a 6-2 run that gave the Pirates a 71-57 lead after a Meikle layup with 2:17 to play.
Reggie Lewis hit a trey with 1:25 left to cut the lead to 71-60.
The Pirates made six straight free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.
Hampton shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the floor and hit eight of its 18 3-pointers (44.4 percent), as well as 21 out of 25 free throws (84.0 percent). The Pirates turned 18 FAMU turnovers into 20 points and out-scored the Rattlers 40-16 off the bench.
For the complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com or www.hamptonpirates.com
NSU Moves to 14-0 After Surviving Scare from B-CU, 62-61
NORFOLK, Va. - Jamel Fuentes broke a 59-59 tie on a putback with 44.6 seconds left, and the Norfolk State men's basketball team improved to 14-0 in the MEAC after surviving Bethune-Cookman's upset bid in a 62-61 win over B-CU Saturday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
The Wildcats led for most of the latter part of the second half and had the Spartans on the ropes. A back-and-forth game - 12 lead changes altogether in the second half - eventually led to a 55-53 NSU advantage with 2:59 to go after junior Malcolm Hawkins pulled up for a big 3-pointer from the right wing.
B-CU's Kevin Dukes quickly quieted the roaring crowd with a trey of his own, but junior Brandon Goode came up big with a tip-in on NSU's next possession with 2:19 left. Down 57-56, Bethune-Cookman (12-17, 7-7) got another big 3-pointer, this time from Paul Scotland, to put the Spartans in a precarious spot with less than two minutes left.
Freshman Rashid Gaston's putback layup tied it up at 59-59 with a minute and a half left, and Fuentes grabbed an offensive rebound on the team's next possession and drove straight to the hoop for two when the seas parted for B-CU on defense.
Adrien Coleman was unable to convert a layup with 21 seconds left but was successful on a second attempt with 8.4 on the clock after Hawkins had hit 1-of-2 from the foul line. Junior Pendarvis Williams missed both free throws with about six seconds left, but the Wildcats were unable to bring the ball up court and get a shot off before the clock expired.
NSU won its 13th in a row, extending its Division I record in the process, and improved to 19-10 overall. The Spartans need one more win over the last two regular season games to lock up the No. 1 seed in the MEAC tournament. The Spartans stayed a game ahead of North Carolina Central (13-1).
Williams was one of four players in double figures for NSU with 14 on 5-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from the 3-point line. Gaston came up big for NSU off the bench with a 10-point, 11-rebound effort.
Fuentes also had a big game with 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Hawkins added 13 points.
Scotland led B-CU with 16 points, with 12 in the second half alone, to go with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Dukes and Coleman each added 12.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.nsuspartans.com
North Carolina Central Defeats Savannah State, 51-47
DURHAM, N.C. -North Carolina Central used a 10-points second half effort from junior Stanton Kidd (Baltimore, Md) as the Eagles outlasted the Tigers of Savannah State 51-47 on Saturday afternoon in McDougald-McLendon Gym.
With the win NCCU has earned its first 20-win season since moving to the NCAA Division I level. This also marks the 16th 20-win campaign since 1927.
Solid defense and clutch free throw shooting keyed the maroon and gray down the stretch as NCCU held on for the 51-47 victory recording only its second win over SSU since moving to the NCAA Division I level.
Stanton Kidd finished the night with 10 points all scored in the second frame, as Ray Willis went 3-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch to finish with 10 points as well.
Preston Blackman led the Tigers (17-11, 10-4 MEAC) in scoring ending the night with 13 points, but was just 2-for-7 from the field in the second half because of the stingy Eagle defense. Blackman was the lone player in double-figures.
For the complete story, visit www.ssuathletics.com or www.nccueaglepride.com