HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team made a spirited comeback in the second half on Sunday afternoon, but Delaware escaped the HU Convocation Center with a 90-79 victory.

The Pirates are now 2-1 on the season.

Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the Pirates with 24 points and seven rebounds, going 10-for-16 from the floor. He also had a team-high four blocks. Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) added 17 points and a team-high seven assists.

Senior guard Ramon Mercado (Chicago, Ill.) added 12 points off the bench, while redshirt-junior forward Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) poured in 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Pirates led 12-10 with 15:42 left in the first half following a 3-pointer from Powers, but Delaware answered with eight straight points to take an 18-12 lead at the 14:24 mark after a trey from Kyle Anderson.

Maxwell hit a jumper at the 13:11 mark to cut Delaware's lead to 21-16, but the Blue Hens went on a 9-0 run to take a 30-16 lead with 10:27 left in the half after Jarvis Threatt hit a 3-pointer.

The lead hovered between 10 and 12 points for much of the rest of the half, though the Pirates cut the gap to 43-34 with 42 seconds left in the half after Mercado hit a pair of free throws.

Davon Usher gave the Blue Hens a 45-34 halftime lead with a layup with eight seconds left.

Maxwell led the Pirates with eight points at the break, while Hampton shot 35.3 percent (12-for-34) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

Delaware (1-2) kept the Pirates at bay early in the second half, though Hampton cut the lead to 59-49 at the 14:21 mark after a free throw from Mercado. The Blue Hens scored the next five points to go up 64-49, and they led 70-53 with 12:01 left after an Anderson jumper.

The Pirates scored the next eight points, cutting the lead to 70-61 at the 10:11 mark after a free throw from Maxwell. Powers added two free throws with 8:42 left in the contest to cut Delaware's lead to 74-65.

In all, Hampton went on an 18-4 run, cutting Delaware's lead to 74-71 with 7:03 left when Powers converted a layup in traffic.

Delaware answered with a 7-2 run to take an 81-73 lead with 4:06 left after a jumper from Marvin King-Davis. From there, the Blue Hens built an 11-point lead again, going up 88-77 with 1:13 to play after a pair of free throws from Threatt.

The Pirates shot 45.2 percent (28-for-62) from the floor and made five of 16 3-pointers – but Hampton went just 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) from the free throw line, and Delaware out-rebounded the Pirates 44-36.

Delaware shot 48.4 percent (31-for-64) from the floor and hit eight of 11 3-pointers.

Threatt led Delaware with 27 points, while Anderson added 24 points.

The Pirates will hit the road again on Wednesday, when they head to Hamden, Conn. to take on Quinnipiac 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.