Box Score

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Hampton University men's basketball team crashed the boards early and often on Monday night en route to its second straight win, a 70-61 decision against Florida A&M at the Lawson Center.

The Pirates (10-17, 6-8 MEAC) out-rebounded Florida A&M 40-25.

There were four ties and four lead changes in the second half, but the Pirates took the lead for good with 9:54 left to play, when Vincent Simpson (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a 3-pointer to put Hampton up 51-48. The Pirates would lead by as many as 11, going up 67-56 with 1:03 to play after Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) hit a free throw.

Amin Stevens hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds to play to bring the Rattlers to within 68-61, but that was as close as Florida A&M would get.

Simpson led three Pirates in double figures with 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while Charles Funches (Bayonne, N.J.) added 13 points. Michael Freeman (Alexandria, Va.) recorded his 11th double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.

Stevens scored a team-high 14 points and five rebounds for the Rattlers, while Yannick Crowder added 12 points.

The Pirates shot 42.0 percent (21-for-50) from the floor, while the Rattlers shot 24-for-54 (44.4 percent) from the floor.

The Rattlers (7-20, 4-10 MEAC) opened the game on an 8-2 run, and a Travis Wallace jumper with 13:08 left in the first half put Florida A&M up 10-7. But Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) tied the game with a 3-pointer 14 seconds later, and Tuitt gave the Pirates a 12-10 lead at the 11:49 mark with a jumper.

Hampton would lead by as much as seven, 26-19, with 6:46 left in the half after Freeman hit a pair of free throws. The Rattlers responded with a 14-6 run to go up 33-32 with 1:17 left in the first half on a Christopher Walker jumper, but the Pirates took the lead right back on a Freeman jumper.

Dale Hughes hit a free throw with five seconds left in the half to tie the game at 34-34.

Morgan led the Pirates with eight points in the first half, going 3-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-3 from behind the arc as Hampton shot 46.7 percent (14-for-30) from the floor and out-rebounded Florida A&M 23-7.

Wallace led the Rattlers with eight first-half points.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they return to the HU Convocation Center to take on Delaware State at 6 p.m. 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.