DOVER, Del. – The Hampton University men's basketball team got back into the win column on Saturday, as the Pirates defeated Delaware State 71-64 at Memorial Hall.

With the win, the Pirates (20-8, 10-5 MEAC) have recorded their first 20-win season since 2001-02, when the Pirates went 26-7, won the MEAC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The win also snapped Hampton's three-game losing streak.

Junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) led the Pirates with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range), while junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 13 points. Senior forward Charles Funches (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

Funches hit a jumper with 15:27 left in the first half to tie the game at 8-8, and the Pirates went on a 7-2 run to go up 15-10 after Morgan hit a pair of free throws at the 12:18 mark.

Delaware State took an 18-17 lead at the 9:09 mark, capping an 8-2 run with a Desi Washington jumper, before the Pirates took the lead right back. The Pirates took a 35-31 lead into the half.

Marques Oliver hit a jumper with 18:25 to play to give the Hornets a 39-37 lead, and Washington followed with a trey at the 15:40 mark to tie the game at 42-42, but the Pirates scored five straight to take a 47-42 lead at the 12:47 mark on a Morgan free throw.

The Pirates never trailed the rest of the way.

Morgan hit a 3-pointer with 3:54 to play to give Hampton its largest lead at 64-56. The Hornets could never get any closer than within four, pulling the score to 66-62 with 2:24 to play when Trevor Welch sank a layup.

Hampton made three of four free throws in the final 26 seconds to ice the game.

The Pirates shot 49.0 percent (25-for-51) from the floor, making six of 15 3-pointers and 15 of 20 free throws. The Pirates also held a 34-28 edge on the boards and had 13 second-chance points to seven for Delaware State.

The Hornets (9-18, 5-10 MEAC) shot 44.4 percent (24-for-54) from the floor, hitting six of their 14 3-pointers. Delaware State also out-scored Hampton 43-13 off the bench.

Washington led Delaware State with 15 points, while Casey Walker added 14 points and Oliver added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Pirates will close out the regular season on Thursday, when they head to Washington, D.C. to take on Howard at 8 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium. 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.