NCAA News Wire
Hampton 62, Tennessee State 54
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Hampton hit its free throws down the stretch to hold off Tennessee State’s comeback attempt and earn a 62-54 victory on the road.
Quinton Chievous hit a layup to give the Pirates a 50-43 lead with 4:13 to play. That was the team’s last basket of the game, but that didn’t matter because Hampton (2-5) finished the game 12-12 at the line. Ke’Ron Brown, Dwight Meikle and Deron Powers each was perfect on four attempts during that span over the final 3:25.
The game was tied at 24 at halftime, and Tennessee State (2-6) took the lead right after intermission on a pair of Xavier Richards free throws. The teams traded baskets for a stretch, with the Tigers taking the lead for the last time 38-37 on a Christian Crocket three-point play with 12:42 left. But Brian Darden hit a 3-pointer for Hampton, and the Tigers never drew even again.
Meikle led the Pirates with 15 points. Brown added 12, and Powers finished with 11. Chievous had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The victory broke a three-game losing streak for the Pirates.
The Tigers, who dropped their fifth game in a row, shot just 31.4 percent from the field and didn’t have a player finish in double figures. Christian Mekowulu had nine points to lead the squad.
