WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Christopher Tolson scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half and Darrion Pellum tallied 12 of his 14 after the intermission to help Hampton pull away to a win over Savannah State in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's Basketball Tournament at the LJVM.

The No. 8 Pirates advance to the semifinal round where they will play the winner of the North Carolina Central/Bethune-Cookman game on Friday at 6 p.m.
 
The Pirates (12-20) used their experience of having won last year's tournament to start the half with a 9-3 run to get some breathing room at 32-25. But the Tigers (21-11), the Number one seed, responded with a 10-5 run to pull within two at 37-35 at the 8:32 mark.
 
That is when Pellum (Hampton, Va.) and Tolson (Laurel, Md.) took over. Pellum, a first-team All-Conference selection hit two free-throws, which capped out the run and he scored nine of his team's 11 points during a seven minute span.
 
The Tigers, who were the top seed in the tournament, would mount another run with a 16-11 spurt to get to within four at 48-44 with 3:53 still remaining.
 
It was then Tolson's turn as he scored 13 straight points over a six-minute span. Hampton would then put the game away at the free-throw line, connecting on 9-of-10 down the stretch.
 
“We wanted to go inside and see how many times we could touch the paint,” said Hampton head coach Ed Joyner. “These guys are seniors and I wanted to put it on their shoulders. They did a good job of responding.”
 
The Pirates defense played a major role in the victory. The Hampton front line blocked 12 shots, forced the Tigers into a season low 27-percent shooting and converted 21 turnovers into 26 points
 
“I thought we played hard as always,” said Savannah State head coach Horace Broadnax. “Hampton's 2-3 zone gave us problems and we were never able to solve it.”
 
For the Pirates, Wesley Dunning (Washington, D.C.) scored eight of his 10 points in the first half to keep his team close. Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) was a strong presence on the defensive side with eight blocked shots.
 
The Tigers were led by Preston Blackman's 12 points and eight from Rashad Hassan and Arnold Louis off the bench.
 
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.