HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team withstood a late Florida A&M rally on Saturday evening, beating the Rattlers 77-68 at the HU Convocation Center.

The Pirates (13-15, 10-4 MEAC) have won eight of their last 10 games.

Junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) led the Pirates with 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting, while freshman guards Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) and Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) each added 16 points.

Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) chipped in 12 points.

After Maxwell gave the Pirates a 5-2 lead at the 17:58 mark of the first half, Florida A&M went on an 11-0 run to take a 13-5 lead with 11:49 left in the half after a layup from Walter Davis. The Pirates then went on a 13-2 run of their own, taking an 18-15 lead after a pair of Maxwell free throws at the 4:59 mark.

Jamie Adams tied the game at 21-21 with a free throw with 3:21 left in the half, but Hampton closed the half on a 9-2 run. Meikle gave the Pirates a 23-21 lead with 3:09 left in the half, and his free throws with three seconds left sent Hampton into the locker room up 30-23.

Mercado led all scorers with nine points in the first half.

FAMU shot just 25.0 percent (9-for-36) from the floor in the first half.

The Pirates opened the second half on a 12-5 run to take a 42-28 lead with 16:06 left to play after Maxwell converted a layup. The run ultimately extended to 15-7, as Hampton took a 45-30 lead with 14:14 left after another Maxwell layup.

D'Andre Bullard hit a jumper with 11:55 to play to cut Hampton's lead to 48-37, before Powers hit two free throws with 11:30 left to put the Pirates up 50-37.

A 3-pointer from senior guard Wesley Dunning (Washington, D.C.) gave the Pirates a 55-39 lead with a trey at the top of the key with 10:50 left, then Mercado slammed down a transition dunk with 10:04 to play to give the Pirates a 57-39 lead.

Mercado then capped a 9-0 run with a breakaway layup with 9:44 left to put Hampton up 59-39.

Powers added a jumper at the 7:31 mark to give the Pirates a 65-45 lead, but the Rattlers scored the next eight points to cut the lead to 65-55 after a Markee Teal jumper with 5:04 to play.

Mercado hit a layup with 4:57 left to stop the run and put Hampton up 67-55, kicking off a 6-2 run that gave the Pirates a 71-57 lead after a Meikle layup with 2:17 to play.

Reggie Lewis hit a trey with 1:25 left to cut the lead to 71-60.

The Pirates made six straight free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

Hampton shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the floor and hit eight of its 18 3-pointers (44.4 percent), as well as 21 out of 25 free throws (84.0 percent). The Pirates turned 18 FAMU turnovers into 20 points and out-scored the Rattlers 40-16 off the bench.

FAMU (8-20, 5-9 MEAC) shot 33.9 percent (21-for-62) from the floor and hit just three of 13 3-pointers (23.1 percent). The Rattlers hit 23 of their 30 free throws (76.7 percent).

Teal led FAMU with 22 points, while Adams added 20.

The Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they take on Bethune-Cookman at the HU Convocation Center at 8 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.