HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team dropped its first home game of the season on Saturday, as Robert Morris escaped the HU Convocation Center with a 66-54 win.

Junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, FL.) led the Pirates (1-7) with 13 points behind three 3-pointers. He was the only Hampton player in double figures; freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) added nine points.

The Pirates jumped out to a 9-3 lead at the 16:08 mark of the first half following a jumper from junior guard Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y..)  before Robert Morris fought back to tie the game at 11-11 at the 13:45 mark after Velton Jones hit a pair of free throws.

A free throw from freshman guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga. ) at the 12:58 mark gave the Pirates a 12-11 lead.

The Colonials answered with a 14-0 run, going up 25-12 with 6:36 left in the first half after a 3-point play from Jones. That run ballooned to 18-4 at the 2:11 mark, when Robert Morris took a 29-16 lead.

The Pirates scored the last five points of the half, though, going into the locker room down 29-21.

Mercado hit a 3-pointer with 15:49 left in the second half to cut Robert Morris' lead to 34-31, before the Colonials answered with seven unanswered points to take a 41-31 lead with 14:04 to play after a trey from David Appolon.

After that, the Pirates cut the lead to single digits one more time, when Mercado hit another 3-pointer with 11:46 to play to cut Robert Morris' lead to 44-35.

The Colonials led by as many as 18, going up 54-36 with 7:33 to play after a Coron Williams jumper.

Hampton shot 36.8 percent (21-for-57) from the floor, making six of its 23 3-pointers (26.1 percent) and six of its 18 free throws (33.3 percent). The Pirates out-rebounded Robert Morris 42-36, picking up 18 second-chance points.

Robert Morris shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the floor and hit 10 3-pointers on the afternoon, including four from Karvel Anderson. The Colonials were also 14-for-20 (70.0 percent) from the free throw line.

Williams and Anderson each had a team-high 12 points for Robert Morris (6-4).

The Pirates will return to action on Dec. 18, when they play host to American at 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.