CARBONDALE, ILL. – A blistering 65% shooting second half for the host Southern Illinois Salukis propelled them to a 75-53 win over Hampton University on Wednesday night.
Hampton took an early 4-2 lead after a
Dondre Griffin layup with 17:04 left. SIU responded with the next nine points to lead 11-4 on a Barrett Benson jumper with 13:32 remaining.
A triple by Trent Brown gave the host their largest lead of the half at the 9:02 mark for a 19-10 lead. The Pirates cut the lead to one twice on jumpers by
Davion Warren to trail 23-22 with 3:44 left. A
Ben Stanley jumper put the Pirates up 24-23 with just under three minutes left. SIU closed the half on an 11-2 run to lead 34-26 on a Marcus Domask layup to close the half.
The second half saw the Salukis hit 17-of-26 from the floor (65.4%) and pushed the lead to as much as 23 points with 3:56 left.
Griffin and
Greg Heckstall were the leading scorers for Hampton with 14 points apiece.
Amir Smith added seven points and a game-high seven rebounds off the bench, while
Ben Stanley added six and
Pierre Sow had a career high matching six points and a career-high five rebounds.
Hampton now visits Kent State on Saturday night at 7 pm.
For more information on Hampton University men's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at
www.hamptonpirates.com.
