NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team stormed back against Delaware State on Thursday at the Norfolk Scope Arena, but the Hornets came back and took a 63-60 win in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament.

The Pirates finished the season 14-17.

Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the Pirates with 16 points and 12 rebounds, recording his eighth double-double of the season, while freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.), the MEAC Rookie of the Year, added 11 points.

Maxwell gave the Pirates a 60-58 lead with 1:35 left to play, but Marques Oliver tied the game at 60-60 with a pair of free throws with 1:15 remaining. Then, with nine seconds remaining, Tahj Tate drained a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Hornets a 63-60 lead.

Powers heaved a 3-pointer of his own on the next possession, but the shot was off the mark.

Delaware State opened the game on an 8-1 run, before the Pirates went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 10-8 at the 11:19 mark of the first half after a Powers free throw. A 15-1 Hornets run followed, giving Delaware State a 25-9 lead at the 5:55 mark after a Casey Walker jumper.

Kendall Gray hit a jumper with 2:44 left in the half to put the Hornets up 30-15, but the Pirates closed the half on a 10-2 run, closing the gap to 32-25 heading into the locker room.

In opening the second half on a 10-4 run, the Pirates took their first lead of the night (37-36) at the 14:22 mark of the second half following a pair of free throws from Powers. The run kept going, though, and senior guard Aaron Austin (Newport News, Va.) hit a trey with 13:44 left to put Hampton up 41-36.

That bucket extended Hampton's run to 14-2.

An 8-2 Delaware State run gave the Hornets a 44-43 lead with 11:25 to play, but the Pirates scored the next nine points to take a 52-44 lead on a dunk from freshman guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) with 8:41 left to play.

Delaware State went on an 8-0 run, tying the game at 52-52 at the 6:12 mark on a pair of Tate free throws. Hampton scored the next two buckets, though, going up 56-52 after a Maxwell dunk with 5:35 remaining.

Oliver tied the game at 56-56 with 3:33 to play with two free throws, then Maxwell hit two free throws of his own with 3:03 to play to give the Pirates a 58-56 lead.

But Gray slammed home a dunk with 2:52 left to tie the game at 58-58 and set up the final stretch.

The Pirates shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) from the floor, hitting three of their 13 3-pointers (23.1 percent) and 15 of their 21 free throws (71.4 percent). Hampton scored 20 points off of 17 Delaware State turnovers.

Both teams grabbed 33 rebounds.

Delaware State (15-17) shot 42.6 percent (20-for-47) from the floor and hit seven of its 16 3-pointers (43.8 percent). The Hornets, the No. 6 seed, hit 16 of their 20 free throws, going 80.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Gray and Walker each had 13 points to lead the Hornets.

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.