NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team just could not get anything to go its way in the second half on Saturday, as the Pirates fell 70-62 to rival Norfolk State at Echols Hall.
 
The Pirates (8-16, 4-7 MEAC) dropped their second in a row and are 0-11 on the road this season.
 
Senior guard Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) led the Pirates with 16 points behind a hot hand from behind the 3-point arc, making four of eight shots from distance, while sophomore forward David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) added 13 points and eight rebounds. 
 
Senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 10 points for his 21^st game with at least 10 points this season. 
 
Senior forward Orin O'Bryant (Reading, Pa.) cut Norfolk State's early lead to 15-9 with 13:55 left to play in the first half, Hampton went on a 20-2 run to take a 27-17 lead at the 7:17 mark after Tolson drilled one of his four first-half 3-pointers.
 
Kyle O'Quinn stopped the run with a layup at the 6:25 mark to cut Hampton's lead to eight. The Spartans would then score 10 unanswered points to tie the game at 27-27 with 5:08 left in the first half. The two teams traded baskets from that point on heading into the half with Norfolk State up 34-33.
 
The first half saw five ties and four lead changes.
 
Norfolk State opened the second half with three straight baskets to increase the Spartans' lead to eight points before senior guard Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) made one of two free throws to pull the Pirates within seven points, 41-34, at the 18:20 mark.
 
The Pirates managed to get back in the game and tie it back up two more times, with the final tie coming at the 12:35 mark, when Bruce sank a layup to make the score 45-45. 
 
The Spartans answered with a 12-2 run to take a 10-point lead, going up 57-47 with 8:39 left to play in the second half. The Pirates cut that lead to just six points on two different occasions before the Spartans went on to claim their second victory of the Pirates this season.
 
Norfolk State (18-8, 10-2 MEAC) was led by Chris McEachin, who scored a game-high 27 points behind 5-for-7 shooting from behind the 3-point arc, while O'Quinn finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Spartans.
 
Hampton shot just 36 percent (24-for-66) from the floor, while Norfolk State connected on 22 of 59 shots (37 percent) taken for the floor. Hampton scored 20 second-chance points, 32 points in the paint and 21 points off the bench.
 
The Pirates will return to action on Wednesday, when they return to the HU Convocation Center to take on Maryland Eastern Shore at 7 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.