SAVANNAH, Ga. – Despite leading for virtually the entire game on Saturday, the Hampton University men's basketball team dropped its third straight game, falling 68-66 to Savannah State at Tiger Arena.
 
The Pirates fell to 8-11 overall and 4-3 in the MEAC.
 
Guard Quinton Chievous (Chicago, Ill.) led the Pirates with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting; he also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, as did junior forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.). Junior guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) added 14 points.
 
The Pirates shot a season-best 56.1 percent (23-for-41) from the floor – including a 66.7 percent clip (12-for-18) in the second half – and hit three of their 10 3-pointers (30.0 percent).
 
With 4:31 left to play in the second half, the Pirates held a 62-52 lead, thanks to a pair of free throws from Darden that capped a 7-0 run. Junior guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.) added a layup at the 3:28 mark to put Hampton up 64-57.
 
But that was Hampton's last field goal of the game.
 
Meanwhile, the Tigers closed the game on an 11-2 run, taking the lead for the first time after Terel Hall hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to put Savannah State up 67-66.
 
Junior guard Reginald Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) took a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired, but the shot fell off the mark.
 
Hampton opened the game on a 12-2 run, taking that lead at the 15:18 mark of the first half after a dunk from redshirt junior guard/forward Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.). A fastbreak layup from Brown with 14:17 left in the half gave the Pirates a 15-4 lead.
 
Savannah State answered with a 13-3 run to cut the lead to 18-17.
 
In fact, the Tigers cut the gap to one on three separate occasions in the first half, but after Savannah State cut the lead to 22-21, the Pirates went on an 8-3 run to take a 30-24 lead after a free throw from senior center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) at the 1:41 mark.
 
Hampton led 31-28 at the half.
 
Savannah State (5-14, 1-4 MEAC) shot 51.2 percent (21-for-41) from the floor and hit four of nine 3-pointers (44.4 percent). The Tigers also held a 27-26 edge in rebounds and turned 19 Hampton turnovers into 18 points.
 
Hall led four Tigers in double figures with 18 points.
 
The Pirates will be in Orangeburg, S.C. on Monday to take on South Carolina State at 7:30 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.