NEWARK, Del. – The Hampton University men's basketball team fell 68-64 to the Blue Hens of the University of Delaware on Saturday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center in the 2012 ESPN Sears BracketBusters.
 
The Pirates (9-17) have yet to win a game on the road this season and have lost four straight to Delaware.
 
Senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) led four Pirates in double figures with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) added 15 points. Sophomore forward David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while senior point-guard Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 10 points for the Pirates.  
 
With 15:28 to play in the first half, the score was tied at 9-9, but the Blue Hens went on a 15-2 run to take the largest lead of the half with the score 24-11 at the 9:20 mark. Tolson made a floater in the lane to end Delaware's run.
 
The Pirates went on a 10-2 run to pull within five points of the Blue Hens, 26-21, following two good free throws by Pellum at the 5:22 mark. Delaware went on to make five field goals, including a 3-pointer, to take a 38-27 lead at the half.
 
In the second half, the Pirates focused more on defense, as they battled back to take their first lead of the second half. With the score 48-46 with 9:50 to play, the Pirates took a 49-48 lead on a 3-pointer by Tolson.
 
From that point on, the two teams would go back-and-forth, but the Blue Hens used a 6-0 run to take a 58-52 lead with 4:47 left to play.
 
Sparked by Tolson, the Pirates went on a 6-2 run to cut that lead to just one point with 2:58 left to play.
 
Delaware went back up by four, but Hampton cut that lead to one again with the score 64-63 following a good free throw by Bruce to complete the 3-point play with 1:32 left to play.
 
The Pirates would only get as close as two points, but the Blue Hens would hold on for the win.
 
Hampton was finished the game with making 23 of 63 shots from the floor (36 percent) and 66 percent (14-for-21) from the charity stripe.
 
Delaware (15-12) finished the game making 22 of 53 shots (41 percent) behind the play of Devon Saddler, who finished with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Jarvis Threatt also scored in double figures with 14 points.
 
The Pirates will be back in action on Monday, as they play host to the Hornets of Delaware 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.