Hampton 70, Quinnipiac 64
HAMPTON, Va. -- Freshman Deron Powers scored 16 points and 10 assists, including six straight points late in the game, to lead Hampton to a 70-64 win over Quinnipiac at the HU Convocation Center on Monday night.
Powers showed he's not afraid to make plays late in the game with the six-point run. After the Bobcats' Dave Johnson made a jumper to tie the game at 60 with 2:43 left, Powers' six points put the Pirates up by six with 28 seconds left.
Evan Conti made a long 3-pointer for the Bobcats to cut the lead to three with 17.8 seconds left, but the Pirates won the game down the stretch from the free throw line to hold on for their third straight win.
Emmanuel Okoroba had 16 points and Jasper Williams' added 15 for the Pirates, with 12 of those points coming on 3-pointers. Du'Vaughn Maxwell added eight points, including two dunks, but his biggest asset was elsewhere, as he pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Hampton once again struggled from the field, making just 34 percent of its shots (20 of 59). Quinnipiac didn't shoot much better at 36 percent (22 of 61).
The win for the Pirates (5-10) was their third straight, following close wins against James Madison and Howard with another against the Bobcats (5-11), who lost for the fourth time in five games.
In both halves, the Pirates established their inside game by feeding Okofora in the low-post, while Williams opened things up with his outside shooting.
Ike Azotam had 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bobcats, while Shaq Shannon added 11 points and Zaid Hearst 10.
Williams started hot for the Pirates from behind the arc. After Okoroba opened the game with a basket, Williams drained three straight 3-pointers to put the Pirates up 11-3 with 15:50 in the first half.
Then Shannon warmed up from long-range, draining two straight 3-pointers to give the Bobcats an 18-17 lead at the 7:36 mark.
Williams, who had 12 first half points on 4 of 5 shooting, continued his strong play, going coast to coast for a layup and drawing a foul, converting the free throw to put the Pirates up 22-20 with 5:02 remaining.
After an Azotam jumper tied the game, the Pirates scored five straight points, the last coming on a Ramon Mercado 3-pointer, but the Bobcats pulled within 29-28 at halftime.
Neither team shot the ball well in the opening half, with the Pirates making just 31 percent (10 of 32) and the Bobcats 36 percent (9 of 25).
Although the Bobcats got just five points from its starters in the opening 20 minutes, they got 22 off the bench.
In the second half, Williams started where he left off, opening with a fade away 3-pointer. But the Bobcats warmed up from outside, as Dave Johnson and Shannon made consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 36 with 16:36 remaining.
The two teams stayed close to each other throughout the second half, with Du'Vaughn Maxwell putting down an emphatic dunk to put the Pirates up 56-53 at the 6:13 mark.
And, while the Bobcats had chances to take the lead, they never did, though they did tie the game at 60 on a Johnson jumper with 2:43 remaining.
The Pirates had just enough to hang on, however.
NOTES: Hampton's game with Quinnipiac Monday represented the first time the two schools have played each other. ... Both teams share American as a common opponent this season, with Hampton picking up a 72-65 win and Quinnipiac falling 61-55. ... Monday night was the Bobcats' last non-conference game of the regular season and the first of a three-game road trip. ... This was the first of three straight at home for the Pirates.
