HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team won its home opener 58-50 over rival Howard University in front of over 4,000 screaming fans Saturday night at the HU Convocation Center for the team's first win of the season.

Freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) led both teams in scoring with a career-high 22 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Pirates was senior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.), who finished the game with a season-high 13 points.

The Pirates (1-6, 1-0 MEAC) shot 32.1 percent (18-for-56) from the floor and 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from the free throw line. Hampton also hit nine of its 25 3-pointers, going 36.0 percent from behind the arc.

Howard held a 43-32 edge on the glass, but turned the ball over 25 times – resulting in 21 Hampton points.

Hampton and Howard played really close in the first half; due to stout defense there were six ties and five lead changes.

The Pirates didn't get their first basket until the 16:05 mark, when Powers hit his first 3-pointer of the game to tie the contest at 3-3. Williams followed with a trey with 15:42 left in the half to put Hampton up 6-3, before Howard fought back to take a 7-6 lead at the 13:42 mark.

Powers hit another 3-pointer at the 9:30 mark to tie the game at 9-9, and Williams gave the Pirates a 12-10 lead with 7:00 left in the half with another shot from behind the arc. Howard took a 14-12 lead at the 5:29 mark after a pair of Calvin Thompson free throws.

The Bison led by as many as four, going up 18-14 with 4:07 left in the half, before the Pirates went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-18 lead at the 1:18 mark following a dunk from junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y..)  Thompson then tied the game at 20-20 with a jumper, and the score would remain so heading into the half.

Freshman guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga. ) gave the Pirates a 28-24 lead with 15:28 left to play with a 3-pointer, before Howard went on a 5-0 run to take a 29-28 lead – the Bison's only lead of the second half. Powers gave the lead right back to the Pirates, 30-29, with a layup at the 12:59 mark.

That kicked off a 10-0 Hampton run, and the Pirates took a 38-29 lead at the 9:40 mark after a Powers 3-pointer. Howard closed to within five, 38-33, before Hampton jumped out to a 10-point lead, going up 43-33 with 8:07 left after a layup from sophomore center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas).

Powers gave the Pirates their largest lead of the night at 51-40 with 4:33 to play after hitting two free throws.

The Bison closed to within five twice more, but the Pirates held on down the stretch.

Howard (1-7, 0-1 MEAC) shot 30.4 percent (14-for-46) from the floor and missed all eight of its 3-pointers. The Bison were 22-for-31 (71.0 percent) from the free throw line.

Thompson led Howard with 18 points.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they welcome Robert Morris to the HU Convocation Center for a 2 p.m. tip. 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.