DURHAM, N.C. – The Hampton University men's basketball team rallied late in the second half Tuesday night, but fell short in a 74-61 loss to North Carolina Central at the McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium in a non-conference tilt.

Sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) led the Pirates with a career-high 20 points, going 5-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-6 from behind the arc, and 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Pirates (7-8) jumped out to a 9-1 lead, thanks to a layup at the 16:38 mark from junior center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas), as NCCU didn't score its first field goal until the 15:32 mark of the first half.

A Meikle jumper at the 11:46 mark gave the Pirates a 13-8 lead, but the Eagles went on a 16-2 run to take a 24-15 lead with 6:25 left in the first half. Hampton answered with an 11-2 run of its own to tie the game at 26-26 after a Darden 3-point play at the 3:26 mark.

Sophomore guard Breon Key (Hampton, Va.) gave the Pirates a 31-29 lead with a free throw with 48 seconds left in the half, but Alfonzo Houston hit a layup with 22 seconds left to send the game into the half tied at 31-31.

Meikle led the Pirates with 10 points at the break.

Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) gave the Pirates a 39-37 lead with a pair of free throws with 16:48 left in the second half, but the Eagles scored the next seven points, taking a 44-39 lead with 13:44 left to play after Jay Copeland hit a layup.

Darden followed with a trey at the 11:52 mark to cut NCCU's lead to 44-41, and he hit another 3-pointer with 10:27 left to cut the Eagles' lead to 48-44.

NCCU then went on a 13-2 run, taking a 62-47 lead with 6:21 left after a trey from Emanuel Chapman.

Dante Holmes hit a jumper to give NCCU a 64-52 lead with 4:32 left, but the Pirates scored the next seven points cutting that lead to 64-58 with 2:27 left after Powers converted a 3-point play. Darden hit two free throws with 1:09 left to cut the Eagles' lead to 66-61.

But NCCU closed the game on an 8-0 run to clinch the win.

The Pirates shot just 27.1 percent (17-for-63) from the floor and made five of 22 3-pointers (22.7 percent). Hampton shot 75.9 percent (22-for-29) from the free throw line, and the Pirates scored 19 points off of 22 NCCU turnovers.

NCCU (8-4) shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) from the floor – including 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the second half – and went 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc. The Eagles also held a 43-39 edge on the glass.

Holmes led four Eagles in double figures with 15 points.

The Pirates will be in Dover, Del. on Saturday, opening the bulk of their MEAC schedule against Delaware State at 4 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.