Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Hampton University men's basketball team defeated No. 4 seed Norfolk State 73-70 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships at the LJVM Coliseum.

Charles Funches (Bayonne, N.J.) sank a free throw with 13:59 to play to give Hampton a 48-38 lead, but the Spartans responded with a 16-6 run to tie the game at 54-54 with 9:15 left to play on a free throw from Joey Dorsett-Jeffreys.

The Spartans went up 62-59 on a Rob Hampton layup with 6:19 to play.

Norfolk State held a 64-63 lead with 5:15 to play after Marcos Tamares hit a jumper, but Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) sank a layup with 4:46 left to put the Pirates (14-17) up 65-64. Hampton would go up by five, 69-64, on a Brandon Tunnell (Wilmington, Del.) layup with 3:07 to play

Even though Rob Hampton cut the lead to one, 71-70, with 34 seconds to play with a jumper, Pellum iced the game eight seconds later with a pair of free throws.

Pellum led three Pirates in double figures with 19 points on 6-for-16 shooting, while Second Team All-MEAC selection Vincent Simpson added 18 points behind the strength of four 3-pointers. Funches went 7-for-12 from the free throw line to help score 11 points on top of a team-high nine rebounds.

The Pirates shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) from the floor, making eight of their 20 3-point attempts.

Deloach led the Spartans (11-19) with 21 points, while Rob Hampton added 20 points.

Norfolk State out-rebounded Hampton 41-32, and the Spartans shot 44.1 percent (26-for-59) from the floor. Norfolk State shot just 18.2 percent (2-for-11) from behind the arc and 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the free throw line.

Norfolk State led 7-6 with 16:59 left in the first half after a layup from Hampton, but Tunnell gave the Pirates an 8-7 lead nine seconds later with a layup. Hampton would lead for the rest of the half, going up by as many as 11, 39-28, with 1:26 left in the half on a Simpson layup.

The Pirates led 40-30 at the half.

The No. 5 seed Pirates will face top seed Morgan State in the semifinal round on Friday at 6 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.