HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team opened the 2013-14 season with a balanced scoring effort Friday night, withstanding a late run and defeating William & Mary 77-69 at the HU Convocation Center.

The Pirates (1-0) have won three of the last five meetings against the Tribe.

Sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) led four Pirates in double figures with 18 points in his Pirates debut, going 5-for-8 from the floor and hitting four of his five 3-pointers. Junior forward Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) added 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half.

Senior Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) added 12 points, as well as a team-high eight rebounds and five blocks, while sophomore guard/forward Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) added 10 points.

Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) had a team-high seven assists.

The Pirates jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, the run starting on a Darden 3-pointer, and the Tribe didn't hit their first shot until the 17:48 mark. Hampton followed that with a 12-0 run, taking a 19-3 lead after another trey from Darden.

Hampton led 21-5 with 14:18 left in the half after a Meikle hit a jumper.

But the Tribe slowly chipped away at the Pirates' lead, even cutting it to 10, 32-22, with 6:54 left in the first half. Meikle answered with a floater 21 seconds later to put Hampton up 34-22, but William & Mary closed the half on an 11-2 run, cutting Hampton's lead to 36-33 with 1:48 left.

Meikle ended the run with a two-handed dunk with 47 seconds left, and the Pirates went into the locker room with a 38-33 lead, shooting 60.9 percent (14-for-23) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

Darden led all scorers with 12 first-half points, going a perfect 4-for-4 from distance.

After a sluggish start to the second half, the Pirates led 46-36 at the 16:43 mark after a one-handed follow-up dunk by Okoroba at the 16:43 mark. The Pirates' lead fluctuated between eight and 10 points over the next several minutes, until a Tribe free throw cut the lead to 52-44 with 11:09 to play.

From there, the Pirates scored the next six points to take a 58-44 lead after a 3-point play from Okoroba. Eventually, Hampton grew the run to 11-5, taking a 63-49 lead after a Meikle jumper with 7:25 left.

William & Mary (0-1) answered with eight straight points to cut the lead to 63-57 after a free throw from Omar Prewitt with 4:37 to play.

Okoroba ended the run with a basket to put the Pirates up 65-57.

After Powers gave the Pirates a 67-59 lead with two free throws, Marcus Thornton pulled the Tribe within 67-62 with a 3-pointer – but Okoroba answered with a bucket of his own on the next possession to put the Pirates back up 69-62.

Okoroba followed that with another basket and two free throws to put Hampton up 73-62 with 1:12 to play.

From there, the Tribe never got any closer than within eight.

The Pirates shot 51.0 percent (26-for-51) from the floor and hit six of their 12 3-pointers. Hampton also held a 36-29 edge on the glass, and the Pirates scored 13 points off of 14 William & Mary turnovers.

Both teams scored 26 points in the paint.

The Tribe shot 42.0 percent (21-for-50) from the floor, but made just six of their 20 3-pointers.

Thornton led William & Mary with 21 points. Prewitt added 15 points and Terry Tarpey had 11.

The Pirates will return to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Jersey City, N.J. to take on Saint Peter's 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.