Box Score ATHENS, Ohio – The Hampton University men's basketball team dropped a tough game on the road in the second game of the Nations of Coaches Classic Tuesday night at the Convocation Center, as Ohio took a 75-67 win.
 
Junior forward David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) led the Pirates with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while freshmen guards Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) and Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The Pirates (0-3) shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the floor and make 16 of their 26 free throws.
 
Hampton tested the Bobcats early on, as the game went back and forth, seeing five ties and seven lead changes in the first half alone. The Pirates led by as many as four points in the first half.
 
The Pirates saw that lead vanish, though, with the score 25-24 in the first half after Walter Offutt nailed a 3-pointer at the 5:37 mark that sparked a 20-2 run to end the half, giving the Bobcats a 44-27 lead.
 
The Pirates made 12 of 29 (41 percent) shots taken from the floor in the first half, but shot just 28 percent (2-for-7) from the charity stripe. Bruce led the way with eight points in the first half for the Pirates.
 
The Bobcats, led by Offutt with 15 points, shot 48 percent (14-for-29) from the floor, but made key free throws and had some unforced turnovers late from Hampton. Ohio scored 21 points off of the Pirates' 14 turnovers in the first half.
 
Hampton opened the second half on a 16-8 run over a span of four minutes to cut the Bobcats' 17-point lead down to nine with the score 52-43.
 
From that point on, the two teams would trade baskets until Ohio extended its lead to 14, 65-51, at the 8:38 mark following two free throws from Offutt.
 
The Pirates cut back into that lead and got as close as eight following a 10-4 run by Hampton to make the score 71-63.
 
Hampton cut the lead to eight two more times before the Bobcats pushed the game to its final margin.
 
Hampton finished the game with 24 turnovers and Ohio scored 32 points off those turnovers. The Pirates won the battle in the paint, scoring 36 points, and they owned the offensive glass by grabbing 20 offensive rebounds and scoring 23 second-chance points.
 
The Pirates also got great play from the bench, scoring 28 points.
 
Ohio (4-0) shot 42.9 percent (21-for-49) from the floor and made 26 of 31 free throws.
 
Offutt led three Ohio players in double figures with 23 points.
 
The Pirates will return to action on Friday, when they travel to Wilmington, N.C. to face Wofford at 2 p.m. on the campus of UNC Wilmington as the Nations of Coaches Classic continues. 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.