NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team held a late lead, but couldn't hold on as Coppin State escaped with an 83-77 win in the quarterfinal round Wednesday night at the Norfolk Scope.
 
The loss snapped Hampton's seven-game winning streak.
 
Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the way with 23 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) added 17 points.
 
Maxwell gave the Pirates a 71-69 lead with 2:11 left to play, converting a layup before Taariq Cephas answered with a 3-pointer at the other end to put the No. 7 seed Eagles up 72-71. Maxwell then answered with another layup, giving Hampton a 73-72 lead with 1:28 left.
 
Cephas gave Coppin State a 74-73 lead with a pair of free throws, then Michael Murray hit a pair of his own with 52 seconds remaining to put the Eagles up 76-73.
 
Coppin State hit seven of eight free throws down the stretch to ice the game, despite a trey from Darden with 15 seconds left to cut the Eagles' lead to 80-77.
 
Much of the game was a tight, physical affair, and Coppin State led 36-30 at the half. Hampton opened the half on a 10-3 run, cutting that lead to 40-39 with 16:29 left after a tip-in from sophomore guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.).
 
Darden hit a layup with 14:30 left to give the Pirates their first lead of the second half, a 46-44 advantage. Darden then hit a trey – one of three on the night – at the 14:09 mark to give Hampton a 49-44 lead. But Coppin State went on a 9-2 run to take a 53-51 lead with 11:08 left after a Sterling Smith layup.
 
Hampton answered with a 10-2 run, taking a 61-55 lead after Maxwell stuffed home a two-handed dunk with 7:18 remaining. Maxwell also had baskets at 5:57 and 5:01 – the latter giving the Pirates a 66-61 lead and apparent control.
 
Coppin State scored the next eight points, though, going up 69-66 on a trey from Dallas Gary. Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) answered with a trey of his own on the next possession, tying the game at 69-69.
 
There were eight ties and eight lead changes in the second half alone.
 
The No. 2 seed Pirates (18-12) shot 36.0 percent (27-for-75) from the floor and hit just seven of 28 3-pointers (25.0 percent). Hampton held a 47-35 edge in rebounding, including 24-7 on the offensive glass. The Pirates scored 23 second-chance points.
 
Coppin State (12-19) shot 46.0 percent (23-for-50) from the floor and scored 21 points off turnovers.
 
Cephas led four Eagles in double figures with 24 points.
 
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.