Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Hampton University men's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament on Friday with an 85-61 win over Norfolk State in the semifinals at the Joel Coliseum.

The No. 2 seeded Pirates (23-8) have won four in a row overall and four straight over the Spartans. It was Hampton's largest win over Norfolk State since the Pirates beat the Spartans 85-57 on Dec. 8, 2001.

Hampton will take on No. 4 Morgan State, which defeated top seed Bethune-Cookman 61-48 on Friday, in the championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.

The Pirates will be looking for their first MEAC Tournament title, and automatic NCAA Tournament berth, since 2006 – when Hampton defeated Delaware State 60-56.

Junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) led the Pirates with 30 points on 9-for-20 shooting, making four of his nine 3-pointers and all eight of his free throws. Junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals.

Junior forward Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with nine points. Senior guard Brandon Tunnell (Wilmington, Del.), on top of his team-high five assists, scored eight points.

The Spartans led by as many as 10 in the early going, taking a 24-14 lead with 7:27 left in the first half after Marcos Tamares drained a 3-pointer. The Pirates answered by scoring seven unanswered points to pull to 24-21 at the 6:04 mark on an Agbelese dunk.

The Pirates went on a 23-9 run over the last 7:27 of the half, going into the locker room with a 37-33 lead after sophomore forward Bakari Taylor (Bowie, Md.) beat the buzzer with a layup. Pellum had 13 points at the break, while Morgan added 12.

Hampton opened the second half on a 7-2 run to take a 44-35 lead when Tunnell hit a trey with 16:28 left to play. Brandon Wheeless would hit a 3-pointer with 14:53 left to pull Norfolk State within five, 44-39, but the Spartans would get no closer.

Hampton went on a 16-5 run after Wheeless' bucket to take a 60-44 lead with 7:32 to play on a Morgan 3-pointer. Morgan followed that with a tip-in and a pair of free throws to balloon the run to 18-5 and give the Pirates a 20-point lead, 64-44, with 6:01 to play.

Hampton closed the game by out-scoring Norfolk State 21-17.

The Pirates shot 45.9 percent (28-for-61) from the floor and made eight of their 16 3-pointers. They also went 21-for-30 (70.0 percent) from the free throw line. Hampton out-rebounded Norfolk State 39-36 and forced the Spartans into 18 turnovers – converting them into 33 points.

Hampton turned the ball over just nine times and held a 36-20 edge in points in the paint.

Norfolk State (12-20) shot 38.2 percent (21-for-55) from the floor and made just five of 18 3-pointers and 14 of 22 free throws. Kyle O'Quinn led the Spartans with 19 points and 17 rebounds, while Rob Hampton added 15 points, Wheeless scored 11 off the bench and Tim Zephyr poured in 10 points.

Morgan State won the only meeting of the season with the Pirates, taking a 78-72 win in Baltimore, Md. on Jan. 10. The Bears have won the last three games against Hampton.

For more information on the 2011 MEAC Tournament, visit www.MEAChoops.com. 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.