HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University Pirates saw their share of first place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) evaporate on Saturday, just like the 15-point lead they held at one stage of the first half against rival Norfolk State University here at the HU Convocation Center.
Hampton, 10-10 overall and 4-3 in the MEAC, fell 68-62 to the visiting Spartans before a crowd of 5,612 fans, the largest at the Convocation Center this season. NSU increased its record to 7-11 overall and 5-2 in the MEAC with its victory.
“This was a game in which we had a few opportunities to put it away,” said HU head coach Kevin Nickelberry. “They (Norfolk State) kept hanging around and they ultimately got their confidence up. We then became the chaser.”
At the outset of the contest, it didn’t appear the Pirates would have to worry about chasing the Spartans at all. Hampton scored the first eight points of the game and methodically built up a 15-point cushion when a Theo Smalling tip-in basket put the Pirates ahead 30-15 with 4:25 left before intermission. The Pirates would go on to settle for a nine-point lead at halftime, 38-29.
In the second half, the Spartans managed to chip away at Hampton’s lead, tying the score on two occasions, first at 40-40 on a Aleek Pauline free throw at the 14:05 mark, and later at 54-54 when Corey Lyons connected on the second of a two-shot free throw opportunity with 5:05 remaining.
At that point, the Pirates then became the chasers.
Michael Deloach hit a three-point jumper at the 4:02 mark, giving the Spartans their very first lead of the game at 57-54. It proved to be a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Norfolk State proceeded to build up a six-point lead at 66-60 with 25 seconds to go following a Deloatch slam dunk. A Smalling layup made it a four-point game at 66-62 with seven ticks left, but Lyons gave his Spartans their six-point winning margin, thanks to a pair of free throws at the :03 mark.
“We didn’t get the stops when we needed them,” noted Nickelberry. “Norfolk State did a great job of getting to the free throw line down the stretch. We’ve got to find a way to do the same thing.”
Perhaps the most telling statistics of the game are the facts that the Pirates made just six field goals in the second half and went just one-for-nine from three-point range in the final period. Additionally, NSU went to the free throw line 32 times in the second half after attempting just three free throws in the first half.
For the Pirates, Vinnie Simpson and Kwame Morgan were the top guns, Simpson scoring 17 points and Morgan contributing 15. Donte’ Harrison came off the bench to lead HU in rebounding with eight boards.
NSU was led by Deloach and Lyons, who scored 22 and 17 points, respectively. Kevin Worsley led the Spartans in rebounding with eight boards.
The Pirates will host the Aggies of North Carolina A&T State University at 8 p.m. on Monday at the HU Convocation Center. Nickelberry said he’s confident his team will put the loss to NSU behind them.
“These guys have been resilient all year,” said Nickelberry. “We’ve had some games like this, where we had big leads and lost. They responded by finding ways to regroup, come back and win the next time out. I’m confident they’ll stay together as a team and do that now.”
