HAMPTON, Va. – Senior Trevond Barnes scored a career-high 22 points to lead four in double figures and earn MVP honors of the John McLendon Classic as Hampton defeated St. Francis College (NY) 81-72 in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament Thursday.

The win marked the first home NCAA Division I-era post-season tournament win for Hampton and evened the Pirates record at 16-16.

After an opening bucket from Barnes, the Terriers (17-16) scored six straight points as a Yaya Evans layup gave the guests a 6-2 lead with 17 minutes left in the half.  Hampton went on a 13-2 run to lead 15-8 on a Jermaine Marrow layup with 12:50 left in half.

The lead grew to 10 points in the first half on a pair of Lysander Bracey free throws with 3:41 left to lead 34-24.  A 3-pointer by Steven Krtinic got the Terriers to 36-32 with 66 seconds left, but a 3-point play by Greg Heckstall with 38 seconds remaining gave Hampton a 39-32 halftime lead.

Hampton pushed the lead in the second half to 75-59 on a layup by Ben Stanley with 3:31 left, but the Terriers responded with a 13-1 run bringing them to 76-72 on a Krtinic layup with 1:22 left.  After Bracey went 1-of-2 from the line, Hampton's defense forced a turnover as Kalin Fisher swiped the ball and found Stanley for a layup to ice the win.

The Pirates next round opponent will be announced in the near future.  Follow @HUAthletics1868 or @Hampton_MBB on twitter and stay tuned to www.hamptonpirates.com for information on round two of the 2019 CIT Tournament.
 
SHORT SHOTS

• Hampton hit 25-of-53 from the field (47.2%), 9-of-16 from 3-point land (56.3%) and 22-of-29 from the foul line (75.9%).
• Barnes topped his previous career high of 21 set earlier this year against Charleston Southern.  He was 6-of-8 from the floor, hit both of his 3-pointers and a career high 8-of-9 from the foul line.
• Bracey recorded a season high 17 points going 4-of-8 from the floor, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the foul line.
• Joining them in double figures were Marrow and Heckstall with 12 points each. 
• Akim Mitchell was the leading rebounder with 11, followed by Heckstall with nine.
• Hampton out-rebounded St. Francis 41-28.