BRONX, N.Y. – The Hampton University men's basketball team had the final possession, but couldn't come away with the basket Monday night at the Rose Hill Gym, as Fordham escaped with a 54-53 win.

Fordham picked up its first win over the Pirates in three meetings.

With what appeared to be 14.4 seconds left on the clock. Fordham's Chris Gaston went to the free throw line to shoot the front end of a one-and-one and missed; Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) grabbed the rebound and started to pushed the ball up the court. Hampton moved the ball around to get an open look, but with two Rams in his face, Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) could not get the shot to fall as it rimmed out as time ran out.

The Pirates dropped to 4-5 on the year, while the Rams improved to 3-3 on the season.

“It was a great game, and we were in the game and we battled the entire game after being down,” said head coach Edward Joyner Jr.

It took the Pirates some time to get things moving in the first half, as they found themselves down 30-26 at the half. Despite that, the Pirates battled the entire first half, as they were down 11 points at one point to the Rams.

Hampton shot just 29 percent (9-for-31) from the floor, while the Rams were able to connect on 13 of 36 shots (33 percent) in the first half. The Rams' Branden Frazier led the way with eight points, while Pellum and Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.) scored six each for the Pirates in the first half.

In the second half, the Rams went on several different runs, but the Pirates would cut into leads of nine twice and get as close as one point on two different occasions. Hampton even tied the game up in the second half at 31-31.

David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) got a tough layup in the paint to tie the game 53-53 with 22 seconds left; the Pirates, out of timeouts, had to quickly foul to put the Rams on the line. Gaston missed the free throw but Hampton could not get the final shot to go.

“This was a tough loss for us, but we have to learn from this game and get ready for the next game,” said Joyner.

The Pirates closed out the night shooting 33 percent (19-for-57) from the floor and a mere 47 percent (8-for-17) from the charity stripe. Although Hampton did get 17 points off the bench and scored 13 points off Fordham's 14 turnovers, it was not enough.

Pellum led the Pirates with 14 points, while Bruce recorded another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Pirates.

Fordham was carried by Gaston and Frazier, who scored 10 points each in the win.

The Pirates will head to Washington, D.C. to take on American University on Wednesday at 7:30 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.