HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team shot an impressive 60 percent (18-for-30) from the floor in the second half on its way to an 82-62 win over Maryland Eastern Shore Wednesday night at the HU Convocation Center.
 
“We shot the ball really well tonight,” said Pirates head coach Edward Joyner Jr. “It was great to see a lot of shots go down for us, and it was a really good team win.”
 
Hampton (9-16, 5-7 MEAC) snapped a two-game losing streak in a big way to win its sixth game at home this season.
 
Senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) led the Pirates with a team- and game-high 33 points, while making 11 of 21 shots, while senior guard Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) added 13 points, six rebounds and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
Pellum has three 30-point games this season, and five for his career.
 
Senior forward Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md,) added 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
 
The Pirates opened the game on an 11-2 run before the Hawks cut the lead to 11-4 when Tyler Hines make a layup at the 16:10 mark in the first half. Hampton then increased its lead to 14 points off an 11-4 run sparked by a deep 3-pointer by Pellum at the 15:15 mark.
 
Hines once again stopped the run with a layup in the paint.
 
UMES used an 8-4 run to cut the lead to six points; the Hawks would not go away and got back to within one point at 34-33 after a free throw from Ronald Spencer with 3:10 to play in the first half.
 
Senior forward Orin O'Bryant (Redding, Pa.) slammed home a dunk at the 1:38 mark to give the Pirates a 36-33 lead headed into the break.
 
The Pirates are 5-2 this season when leading at the half.
 
Hampton turned it up to another level in the second half; the Pirates opened the half on a 19-3 run to increase their lead to 18 points, 54-36, with 14:27 in the second half.
 
Hines made yet another layup in the paint to cut the lead to 54-41 with 13:44 in the second half, but that was as close as the Hawks got for the rest of the contest.
 
Hampton shot 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the floor on the night, and the Pirates made 16 of 22 free throws. The Pirates also scored an impressive 40 points in the paint and 22 points off 20 Hawks turnovers.
 
Maryland Eastern Shore (6-19, 3-9 MEAC) was led by Hillary Haley with 14 points, while Hines added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
UMES finished the game shooting 32.8 percent (21-for-64) from the floor.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Newark, Del. to take on Blue Hens of Delaware 2 p.m. as part of the 2012 Sears ESPN BracketBusters. 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.