Box Sore

Hampton, Va. – Freshman Michael Freeman scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Rashad West added 20 to lead the Pirates of Hampton University to a 71-64 win over visiting North Carolina – Greensboro. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Pirates who improved to 2-6, while the Spartans fell to 2-5.

The Freeman-West duo opened the game with a 9-0 run to give the Pirates the early momentum. However, the Spartans fought their way back using the long ball with three-pointers coming from Dwayne Johnson and two from Kevin Oleksiak, as UNCG eventually took a 19-17 lead.

The Pirates regained the lead 28-23 on a pair of free throws by West with 3:56 to play before the half, but UNCG’s Kyle Hines rebounded a missed shot and scored a basket as time expired to knot the game at 32 heading into the break.

Following Oleksiak’s jumper with 16:01 to play that provided the sixth tie of the ball game at 39 apiece; the Pirates went on a 12-5 run behind three-pointers from West and Kevin Clark and a dunk by Freeman. Hampton went to a full court trap and their aggressive defense forced the Spartans into several turnovers and multiple missed shots, allowing the Pirates’ lead to swell to 62-50 with just under five minutes to play.

By the time UNCG’s Mikko Koivisto nailed a three-pointer with 1:53 to play, the Spartans had went nearly six minutes without a basket. Yet they were able to come to within four points, 68-64, on a layup by Johnson but another West fee throw and a break-away dunk by Freeman provided the final margin.

Hampton’s Demario Mattox chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds to aid West and Freeman, while UNCG was led by Kyle Hines and Oleksiak with 19 points each.

The Pirates return to the court on Saturday when they take on Howard University at Madison Square Garden as part of the Big Apple Classic.