Box Score
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Hampton University Pirates rallied, then held on for a 76-74 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s basketball road win over the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Gaither Athletic Center Monday night.
The Pirates (5-9, 2-2 in MEAC) trailed by just three points, 33-30 at the break, as both teams shot poorly from the floor.
FAMU (8-8, 3-1), shot 31.8 percent from the field (7 of 22) and cashed in on just three of nine three-point tries, while the Pirates made a chilly 23.7 percent of their field goal tries (9 of 38) and just 14.3 percent (3 of 21) of their long-range shots in the opening frame.
But the Pirates caught fire in the second half, shooting 55.6 percent (15 of 27) from the field and cashed in on six of their nine three-point tries. FAMU shot 45.8 percent from the field (11 of 24) and hit three of eight from beyond the arc.
That shooting advantage, combined with clutch foul shooting down the stretch (76.9 percent, or 10 of 13), negated the Rattlers’ 88.9 percent showing from the charity line (16 of 18).
Plus, FAMU missed some key floor shots inside the final four minutes when the game hung in the balance.
Rattler junior guard Leslie Robinson hit a pair of free throws with 3:56 left, tying the score at 67-67, capping a 8-0 run which came as a result of three technical fouls assessed against Hampton - one against Theo Smalling, one against head coach Kevin Nickleberry and the third on Vincent Simpson.
West hit a jumper with 3:37 left to put the Pirates ahead, 69-67, then after a missed three-pointer by FAMU’s Darius Glover, Hampton’s Michael Freeman slammed home a dunk to push the Pirates’ edge to four points, 71-67 with 2:37 to go.
Following a missed three-pointer by Ernest Maul, West hit a pair of charity tosses to extend the Pirates’ advantage to six points, 73-67 with 1:48 left.
Yet, the Rattlers would not fade, as Rome Sanders hit a foul shot with 1:35 to play, and two more with 41 seconds left to pull FAMU within three points, 73-70.
Sanders would tip in a missed shot with 29 seconds to play to nudge the Rattlers even closer at 73-72, before Hampton’s Adrian Woodard flushed a pair of freebies to push the Pirates up to a three-point lead, 75-72 with 28 seconds to go.
Rome Sanders’ slam dunk with 17 seconds to go pulled FAMU within one point, 75-74, but a Kevin Clark foul shot with 10 seconds left, resulted in the final two-point margin, after two missed Rattler shots.
Sanders led FAMU with 24 points and six rebounds. Leslie Robinson added 21 points, including five three-pointers, with Ernest Maul scoring 12 points, with six rebounds. Darius Glover rounded out the FAMU double digit quartet with 10 points.
Rashad West led all scorers with a career-high 33 points, hitting five three-pointers, with 14 points apiece coming from Vincent Simpson and Michael Freeman. Freeman also hauled down a game-high 12 rebounds Monday.
(story courtesy of FAMU Sports Information)
