Box Score

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Hampton University men's basketball team fell 72-60 to the Bulldogs of South Carolina State on Saturday evening at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match-up.

South Carolina State opened the second half with a 17-6 run to build a 51-37 lead with 13:06 to play after Arsenio Williams sank a free throw. The Bulldogs would lead by as many as 17, going up 58-41 with 9:34 to play after Carrio Bennett sank a 3-pointer.

The Pirates cut the lead to eight on three different occasions, including with 1:33 to play after Brandon Tunnell (Wilmington, Del.) hit a pair of free throws to make it 66-58. But a layup from Tyvon Williams with 14 seconds to play put the Bulldogs back up by 14, 72-58.

A tip-in from Charles Funches (Bayonne, N.J.) in the final seconds pushed the game to its last margin.

Vincent Simpson (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the Pirates (7-15, 4-6 MEAC) with 19 points on 6-for-15 shooting and 4-for-11 from behind the arc. Michael Freeman (Alexandria, Va.) added 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting and a team-high 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season – and his fourth straight.

Jason Flagler scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting for the Bulldogs, while Williams added 16. Brandon Smalls pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

The Pirates shot 22-for-57 (38.6 percent) from the floor, making five of their 18 3-point attempts. South Carolina State shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the floor, and forced Hampton into 22 turnovers – scoring 21 points off those turnovers.

Hampton held a 36-35 rebounding advantage.

The Bulldogs (12-8, 6-3 MEAC) took the lead for good with 2:34 left in the first half on a jumper from Flagler to give South Carolina State a 30-29 lead. The Bulldogs scored the last four points of the half to go into the intermission with a 34-29 lead.

Hampton's last lead came with 2:53 left in the first half, when Jonathan Ntoko put the Pirates up 29-28 with a tip-in.

Simpson scored 16 of his points in the first half on 6-for-10 shooting, as the Pirates shot 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from the floor, hitting all five of their shots from behind the arc.

Flagler scored 11 points in the first half to lead the Bulldogs, who shot 48.1 percent (13-for-27) from the floor, holding a 17-16 rebounding edge and turning the ball over just eight times.

The Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on Winston-Salem State at 8 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.