NORFOLK, Va. – A late push from Maryland Eastern Shore put Thursday night's MEAC Tournament quarterfinal in doubt, but the Hampton University men's basketball team held on and prevailed 76-71 at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
The Pirates (14-17) will face rival Norfolk State, the No. 2 seed, in Friday's semifinal at 8 p.m.
 
"I thought we played beautifully for the first 36 minutes," Hampton head coach Edward Joyner Jr. said. "I thought the first 36 minutes we put on a clinic, and then the next four minutes, mainly because of free throws, we allowed them to get back into the ball game."
 
A free throw from Mark Blackmon with 48 seconds remaining cut Hampton's lead to 72-71 and capped an 8-1 run for the Hawks, who came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed. But junior guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) hit two free throws of his own with 25 seconds left to put Hampton up 74-71.
 
Junior guard Reginald Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) added a free throw 17 seconds later to give the sixth-seeded Pirates a two-possession edge, and a technical free throw from junior guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) with four seconds left pushed the game to its final margin.
 
"I proud of our guys because we gutted it out," Joyner said.
 
Powers led four Pirates in double figures with 23 points, going 6-for-14 from the floor and hitting five 3-pointers. Johnson hit four 3-pointers en route to a 15-point effort, while Darden and junior forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) each chipped in 12 points.
 
Redshirt freshman forward Charles Wilson-Fisher (Los Angeles, Calif.) grabbed a team- and career-high 10 rebounds off the bench to go along with five points.
 
Hampton, which had dispatched of Morgan State 91-71 in the first round on Monday night, led throughout the second half, going up 54-34 with 14:10 to play after Pressley slammed home a dunk – which came after a Johnson trey.
 
Pressley followed his dunk with a layup to put Hampton up 56-43.
 
That was Hampton's largest lead of the night, and the Pirates maintained control all the way through the 3:31 mark, when a Powers free throw gave Hampton a 71-63 lead.
 
But Ishaq Pitt answered on the other end with a layup, cutting the lead to 71-65 and triggering the aforementioned 8-1 run. Six of those eight points came from Pitt.
 
UMES opened the game by scoring 16 of the first 24 points, leading 16-8 at the 13:35 mark after a two-handed dunk from Michael Myers. But the Pirates responded by rattling off 10 unanswered points, taking an 18-16 lead on a trey from Darden.
 
There were six ties and seven lead changes in the first half, most of which came after Darden's long-distance bucket. Blackmon hit a 3-pointer with 5:45 left in the half to put the Hawks up 29-27, before the Pirates scored six straight to take a 33-29 lead at the 2:51 mark after a Wilson-Fisher free throw.
 
Guard Quinton Chievous (Chicago, Ill.) converted a layup with 38 seconds left in the half to send the Pirates into the locker room with a 37-33 intermission lead.
 
The Pirates shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58) from the floor and went 12-for-25 (48 percent) from behind the arc. Hampton also held a 45-37 edge in rebounds and scored 26 second-chance points – compared to just 11 for UMES.
 
"I felt like we rebounded a lot better this game," Powers said. "Also, I thought we made a lot of big shots that kept us in the game myself, Reginald (Johnson), and Brian (Darden). I really felt like it kept us in the game."
 
UMES (16-16) shot 41.1 percent (23-for-56) from the floor. Pitt led three Hawks in double figures with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Blackmon added 14 points and Dominique Elliott chipped in 12 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.