JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Despite being down by two possessions with less than eight minutes to go, the Hampton University men's basketball team stormed back and took a 64-59 win over Saint Peter's Tuesday evening at the Yanitelli Center.

The Pirates start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2002-03, when they opened the season 4-0.

Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the Pirates with 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and he added five blocks for the second straight game, while redshirt-freshman guard Lawrence Cooks (Charlotte, N.C.) added 12 points on 3-for-5 shooting.

Sophomore guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Saint Peter's led 52-47 with 7:24 left to play in the second half following a free throw from Jamel Fields, but the Pirates responded immediately; Maxwell tied the game at 52-52 with a dunk off an offensive rebound at the 6:19 mark, and Maxwell sank a layup almost a minute later to put Hampton up 54-52.

In all, the Pirates went on a 9-0 run, leading 56-52 at the 4:40 mark after a layup from sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.).

A Dominique Marvin jumper with 3:51 to play cut the Pirates' lead to 56-55, but the Peacocks only scored four points the rest of the way – and only hit two field goals in the final 7:24.

Cooks hit two free throws with seven seconds left to ice the game.

Saint Peter's led 8-4 in the early going, before a 6-2 Hampton run tied the game at 10-10 with 13:47 left in the first half following a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Reggie Price (Charlotte, N.C.). The Peacocks answered with seven straight points to go up 17-10 at the 8:23 mark on two Fields free throws.

But Hampton scored eight unanswered, going up 18-17 after a Brown free throw at the 6:16 mark.

Maxwell gave the Pirates a 22-20 lead with a jumper at the 3:27 mark, but Saint Peter's closed the half on an 11-2 run to take a 31-24 lead into the locker room.

The Pirates shot just 37.5 percent (9-for-24) from the floor in the first half.

Saint Peter's controlled much of the second half, leading by as many as eight after a layup from Markese Tucker with 12:00 to play gave the Peacocks a 43-35 lead. Five straight Hampton points cut the lead to 43-40 at the 10:44 mark after Powers hit two free throws.

But Desi Washington gave Saint Peter's a 47-40 lead with 9:59 to play with a layup, before Hampton scored five straight to cut the lead to 47-45 on a 3-pointer from Cooks with 9:15 left.

The Pirates shot 40.4 percent (19-for-47) from the floor, hitting five of their 13 3-pointers and 21 of their 30 free throws. Hampton forced Saint Peter's into 15 turnovers (and scored 14 points off of them), while only coughing up the ball 11 times.

Saint Peter's (0-2) shot 38.3 percent (18-for-47) from the floor and went just 2-for-12 from distance. The Peacocks held a 39-32 edge on the glass and a 28-20 edge in points in the paint.

Chris Burke Led the Peacocks with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pirates return to action on Sunday, when they play host to Delaware at 2 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.