HAMPTON, Va. – Despite a nine-point halftime lead, the Hampton University men's basketball team had its three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling 74-71 to Delaware State at the HU Convocation Center.
 
The Pirates fell to 11-15 overall and 7-6 in the MEAC.
 
Junior guard Reginald Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) led four Pirates in double figures with 17 points, going 5-for-12 from the floor and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds, while guard Quinton Chievous (Chicago, Ill.) added 16 points and eight boards.
 
Junior forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) added 13 points, while junior guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) added 10 points, going 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and dished out six assists.
 
The Pirates shot 35.0 percent (21-for-60) from the floor and went 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from behind the arc. Hampton, which also shot 75.0 percent (24-for-32) from the free throw line, out-rebounded Delaware State 37-35.
 
Despite holding a nine-point lead at the half, the Pirates found themselves tied at 41-41 with Delaware State with 14:39 remaining after a layup from Amere May – the first of nine times the score was tied in the second half.
 
After the Hornets tied the game at 43-43, the Pirates scored the next six points to take a 49-43 lead after Powers hit two free throws with 12:48 left to play. A Chievous free throw with 12:20 remaining gave Hampton a 50-45 lead.
 
From there, the Hornets scored the next seven points to take a 52-50 lead – Delaware State's first lead since early in the first half. Delaware State later led 56-54 with 7:48 left to play, before Chievous nailed a trey to give Hampton a 57-56 lead with 7:22 left.
 
Powers hit two free throws with 5:19 left to give Hampton a 63-60 lead.
 
May hit two free throws with 31 seconds left to give Delaware State a 72-68 lead, before Powers drove through the lane for a layup to cut the lead to 72-70. Chievous then stole the ball with 17 seconds left, but went 1-for-2 from the free throw line.
 
May gave Delaware State a 74-71 lead with five seconds left with a pair of free throws, and junior Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) had a look to tie the game at the buzzer, but his floating trey from the top of the key fell off the mark.
 
The Pirates responded early after Delaware State took an early 5-0 lead, going on an 18-5 run to take an 18-10 lead after a jumper from Johnson at the 14:27 mark of the first half. The Hornets answered with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 22-20, before Hampton went on a 10-2 run to take a 32-22 lead at the 2:56 mark after a jumper from redshirt freshman forward Charles Wilson-Fisher (Los Angeles, Calif.).
 
The Pirates led 36-27 at the half, after Chievous converted a layup in the closing seconds.
 
Johnson had 14 points in the first half.
 
Delaware State (13-14, 7-5 MEAC) shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the floor – including a 53.1 percent clip (17-for-32) in the second half – and made seven of 19 3-pointers (36.8 percent).
 
May led the Hornets with 30 points, 24 of which came in the second half.
 
The Pirates will be in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Feb. 28 to take on Howard at 7 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.