HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team, on the strength of a great second half, picked up its first conference win of the season on Saturday, defeating Coppin State 71-52 at the HU Convocation Center.
 
The Pirates (3-5, 1-0 MEAC) have won back-to-back games.
 
Junior guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) led all scorers with 17 points to go along with seven assists, while redshirt junior guard/forward Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) added 15 points and nine rebounds.
 
Guard Quinton Chievous (Chicago, Ill.) recorded his second straight double-double, racking up 13 points and a team- and career-high 16 rebounds.
 
Junior forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) had nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Pirates shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) from the floor and hit five of 16 3-pointers (31.3 percent). Hampton also held a 55-33 edge in rebounding – including an 18-11 advantage on the offensive glass. Hampton also turned 20 Coppin State turnovers into 20 points.
 
The Eagles led by as many as seven, going up 20-13 with 9:12 left in the first half, before the Pirates went on a 10-2 run to take a 23-22 lead at the 5:39 mark after a 3-point play from Chievous. Hampton scored seven of the next eight points after that, leading 30-23 after a Pressley free throw.
 
The Pirates led 33-29 at the half. Powers had 11 points at the break.
 
Hampton scored the first six points of the second half, taking a 39-29 lead at the 16:12 mark after a jumper from Chievous. In all, the Pirates opened the second half on a 15-3 run, leading 48-32 after a Chievous 3-pointer with 12:36 left.
 
The Eagles cut the lead to 55-42 with 8:42 left to play, before Hampton scored the next six points to jump out to a 61-42 lead after a 3-pointer from junior guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) with 7:28 remaining.
 
A pair of free throws from Powers with 4:07 left gave Hampton its largest lead at 65-45.
 
The Eagles shot just 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from the floor in the second half, shooting 15 3-pointers and hitting just two of them. Hampton out-rebounded Coppin State 28-13 in the second half alone.
 
Arnold Fripp, who had 12 points at the half, went scoreless in the final 20 minutes.
 
Coppin State (1-6, 0-1 MEAC) shot just 26.7 percent (16-for-60) from the floor and 6-for-29 (20.7 percent) from behind the arc.
 
Taariq Cephas led the Eagles with 13 points.
 
The Pirates will play host to Morgan State on Monday 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.