Hampton 58, Howard 50
HAMPTON, Va. -- It was befitting that Howard and Hampton, two teams who came into Saturday's matchup having combined for one win in 12 games, would have trouble making shots and holding onto the basketball.
Both combined for more than 40 turnovers and less than 40 percent shooting, but Hampton finally pulled away after Howard center Alphonso Leary was ejected for a flagrant foul midway through the second half, getting a 58-50 win Saturday at the HU Convocation Center.
The game, dubbed the Battle for the Real HU, was a struggle for both teams, with Howard shooting just 30 percent from the field (14 of 46) and committing 25 turnovers, while Hampton was 32 percent from the field (18 of 56) and turned the ball over 22 times.
However, the Pirates got timely 3-point shooting from freshman guard Deron Powers, who made two straight from behind the arc following Leary's ejection and had four in the game. Powers led all scorers with 22 points, while Calvin Thompson led Howard with 18.
The Pirates (1-6) were 0-for-the-first 4:30 of the game until breaking the drought with back-to-back 3-pointers from Powers, who led all scorers with 14 points, and senior guard Jasper Williams.
Powers also made consecutive 3-pointers in the Pirates' 8-0 second-half run after Leary's ejection as they extended their lead to 43-33 at the 7:54 mark.
Both teams struggled to get anything going inside in the first half as the two teams each shot less than 30 percent from the field. The Pirates shot 24 percent on 7-of-29 shooting, while the Bison (1-7) shot 29 percent on 6-of-21 shooting, with neither team leading by more than four points.
Howard also turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, while Hampton had eight.
The Pirates have now won 30 of the 35 games against the Bison since moving up to Division I in 1995.
