TOWSON, Md. – The Pirates of Hampton University took on their second CAA foe in less than three days as they faced off against the Tigers of Towson University at the Towson Center Saturday night. In a match-up based mostly on the play of the defense of both teams, the Tigers’ offense came out on top by a score of 82-73, despite the Pirates, tough hard-nosed defense.  

 

“I am very pleased with the overall flow of the game and they way that the players played tonight,” said Pirates head coach Kevin Nickelberry.

 

In the first half, the Pirates shot a mere 41 percent from the floor, making only 13-of-31 shots that they took while the Tigers shot 43 percent on 14-of-32 shots taken from the floor. The difference maker in the first half was the fact that Towson made more 3-pointers than the Pirates late in the half.

 

Hampton scored 17 points off the bench, 16 points in the paint, and 12 points off eight Towson turnovers -- all in the first half. Hampton was led by George DeGroat (Portsmouth, Va.), who had 10 points in the first half and grabbed seven rebounds for Hampton.

 

Towson was led by Jarrell Smith, who scored 14 points in the first half alone and snatched six rebounds also for the Tigers to go into the half up by seven points at 39-32.

 

The second half would go back and forth for a while, up until 8:27 left in the game when the Pirates tied the game up on a dunk by Michael Freeman (Alexandria, Va.). Prior to that tie, the closest the Pirates had gotten to the Tigers was within two points on two different instants in the second half.

 

With about 7:30 remaining in the game, the Pirates saw their first lead of the game, but it didn’t last that long as the Tigers would tie the game back up at 60 with less than 5:40 left in the game off a deep 3-pointer by Troy Franklin. The tie at 60 would be the last tie of the game for the Pirates, as following that shot Franklin would come back down the court and hit another clutch 3-pointer with 5:06 left to play.

 

Towson would have as much as an eight-point lead late in the game. The Pirates cut that lead back to four points with 1:33 left, but it would not be enough as Towson went on to win by a final score of 82-73.

 

The Pirates finished the game with three players in double figures, led by Kwame Morgan (Largo, Md.), who had 14, followed by DeGroat, who finished with 12, and Donte Harrison (Brooklyn, N.Y.) closed it out with 11 points in the effort for the Pirates.

 

“I am constantly impressed with the play of the new guys and especially the play of Morgan, who is playing better and better each night, and George stepped up big for us tonight as well by grabbing some key rebounds in the game,” said Nickelberry.

 

For Towson, Jarrel Smith finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting on the night. Other than Smith, there were three other Tigers who finished the game in double figures in Franklin (18), Calvin Lee (10), and Josh Thornton (14).

 

The Pirates will now gear up to travel to Alaska to take part in the Great Alaska Shoot-Out with their first game on Wednesday with an 11:30 p.m. (EST) tip-off time. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.