HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team picked up their third straight win on Monday, beating non-conference foe Quinnipiac 70-64 at the HU Convocation Center.

The Pirates (5-10) fell two points shy of their season high in scoring.

Redshirt-sophomore forward Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) led the Pirates with 16 points, as did freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.)  the reigning MEAC Rookie of the Week. Powers also had 10 assists, tying his career high, for his second double-double of the season.

Senior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.) added 15 points behind four 3-pointers. Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y..) added eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Pirates jumped out to an 8-0 lead after Williams hit a 3-pointer at the 17:45 mark of the first half. Williams then hit another trey – his third in the opening minutes – at the 16:08 mark to give the Pirates an 11-3 lead.

Quinnipiac clawed its way back, taking an 18-17 lead at the 8:21 mark after a 3-pointer from Shaq Shannon. But freshman forward Dionte Adams (Charlotte, N.C.) hit a layup with 7:55 left in the half to give the Pirates a 19-18 lead.

Ike Azotam hit a layup with 5:44 left in the half to give the Bobcats a 20-19 lead, but a Williams 3-point play at the 5:05 mark to put Hampton up 22-20.

After Quinnipiac tied the game at 22-22 with 4:29 left in the half, the Pirates went on a 7-2 run to take a 29-24 lead after two free throws from redshirt-freshman guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) with 2:11 left in the half.

The Bobcats scored the last four points of the half to go into the locker room down 29-28.

Okoroba gave Hampton a 34-28 lead with 18:51 left in the second half with a pair of free throws, before Quinnipiac scored the next five points to cut the lead to 34-33 with 17:11 left to play. The Bobcats then took a 39-38 lead with 16:10 to play after a Zaid Hearst 3-point play, before Powers answered with a 3-point play of his own at the 16:05 mark to put Hampton up 41-39.

The score was tied six times after that, before Hampton took the lead at the 6:46 mark, going up 56-53 after Maxwell slammed home a one-handed breakaway dunk. Maxwell added another soaring slam at the 4:33 mark to put the Pirates up 60-56.

Dave Johnson tied the game one last time with a jumper with 2:43 to play to make the score 60-60, but the Pirates went on a 5-0 run to take a 65-60 lead on a Powers 3-point play with 1:28 remaining.

From there, the Pirates hit seven free throws in the closing moments to clinch the win.

The Pirates shot 33.9 percent (20-for-59) from the floor and hit five of their 13 3-pointers – but the real strength came at the free throw line, where Hampton went 25-for-34 (including 20-for-29 in the second half).

Quinnipiac (5-11) shot 36.1 percent (22-for-61) from the floor and hit six of their 18 3-pointers. The Bobcats out-rebounded the Pirates 45-41, but they turned the ball over 20 times – resulting in 19 Hampton points.

Azotam led the Bobcats with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they return to conference play against Morgan State at the HU Convocation Center at 6 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.