Box Score
HAMPTON, Va. – Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) scored 22 points and Aleek Pauline (Jamaica, N.Y.) scored all 10 of his in the second half to help Norfolk State down host Hampton 70-66 on Saturday night at the HU Convocation Center.
With the win, the Spartans (6-17, 5-6 MEAC) have won three of their last four overall and have taken four straight in the series from the Pirates (8-16, 4-7). NSU has now won the season series from Hampton in consecutive seasons for the first time since the Spartans joined Division I in 1997-98.
NSU led by as many as nine points in the second half, 67-58, after a breakaway dunk by Rob Hampton (Queens, N.Y.) with 3:04 remaining. But the Pirates scored the game's next eight points, capped by two Brandon Tunnell free throws, to pull within 67-66 with 54 seconds left.
Deloach drew a foul at the other end and went 2-of-2 from the free-throw line with 25 seconds left to extend the lead to three, 69-66. The Pirates had two chances to tie at the other end. Vincent Simpson, who scored a team-high 18 points, missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, but Hampton retained possession after NSU knocked the ball out of bounds. But Rob Hampton intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass and hit one free throw with 5.8 seconds remaining to ice it.
The game was a typical spirited affair among the two rivals, with both teams making runs.
NSU got seven early points from Deloach en route to a 15-4 lead heading into the first media timeout. But the Pirates' zone defense and two fouls to Pauline slowed NSU's attack. The Spartans led 19-11 after a free throw by Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) with 9:39 to play in the first half, but the Pirates outscored NSU 13-0 over the next three and a half minutes. Simpson and Michael Freeman combined for 11 of the 13 points. The Spartans also had seven turnovers in the spurt, after which Hampton led 24-19.
The Spartans would weather that storm and trail by just one at the half, 33-32, after a 3-pointer by Brandon Wheeless (Stone Mountain, Ga.) with three seconds left before intermission. Wheeless scored seven of his career-high nine points in the opening stanza.
There were 11 lead-changes in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Pauline gave NSU the lead for good, 49-47, with the first of his two 3-pointers with 11:17 remaining. After not attempting a field goal in the first half in which he was limited to 11 minutes due to fouls, the junior point guard was 3-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-2 from behind the arc, and 2-of-2 from the foul line in the second half.
Deloach was 8-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the line. Rob Hampton added 13 points, including 6-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe, and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Pauline and Kyle O'Quinn (Jamaica, N.Y.) added 10 points apiece and Wheeless scored a career-high nine on 3-of-3 shooting.
Simpson had 18 points while Freeman had 17 and nine boards for the Pirates, who were held to 39 percent shooting. Darrion Pellum chipped in with 12 points.
NSU travels to Washington, D.C., to face Howard University on Monday. Due to anticipated inclement weather and poor travel conditions, the game has been moved up to a 4 p.m. start.
