Box Score

HAMPTON, Va. – Senior guard Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) took over in the final minute, scoring five points in a row to give the Hampton University men's basketball team a 57-55 win over Howard on Saturday night at the HU Convocation Center. 
 
Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) went to the free throw line with Howard leading 55-52 and nailed two free throws for the Pirates to pull within a point. Following a quick foul by senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.), Howard's Simuel Frazier went to the line to shoot two free throws with less than 20 seconds to play.
 
Frazer missed both free throws and sophomore center David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) pulled down the most important rebound of the game.
 
Tuitt got the ball at the top of the key, drove to the corner and shot a fall-away jumper that kissed off the glass as he was fouled with just under seven seconds left before making the free throw to give the Pirates a 57-55 lead.
 
Howard had a final look to win the game, but Brandon Ford's 3-pointer was too hard as time ran out.
 
Hampton improves to 6-9 overall with the win and 2-1 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play, while the Bison, led by former Pirates coach Kevin Nickelberry, drop to 4-13 on the year and 1-3 in conference play.
 
“We never gave up and this was a hard-fought win for us tonight,” said Pirates head coach Edward Joyner Jr. “Howard is a really good team and they got after us early in the game, but we were able to stay in the game down the stretch and Tuitt make a big shot for us.”
 
Tuitt scored a career-high 20 points off the bench, making six of 11 shots; also scoring in double figures for the Pirates was Pellum, who scored 12 points.
 
Senior guard Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) recorded a team- and game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Hampton shot just 36 percent (17-for-47) from the floor and made just two of their 15 3-pointers.
 
Howard's Glen Andrews scored a game-high 23 points for the Bison on 6-for-16 shooting, while Frazier helped out with 11 points.
 
The Bison only made 14 of 50 shots (28 percent) from the floor, but out-rebounded the Pirates 44-35.
 
The Pirates scored 22 points in the paint and 15 points off of 17 Howard turnovers.
 
The Pirates will travel to Harrisburg, Va. to take on the Dukes of James Madison in a non-conference game on Monday with tip-off slated for 7 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.