HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team staged a furious comeback in the second half on Saturday, but Morgan State came away with an 80-78 win over the Pirates at the HU Convocation Center.

The Pirates (5-11, 2-1 MEAC) set a season-high in points scored, despite having their three-game winning streak snapped.

Freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) led the Pirates with 19 points to go along with a career-high-tying 10 assists. Sophomore center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) picked up his third double-double of the season, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.) added 13 points.

Okoroba gave the Pirates a 74-72 lead with 3:32 left to play, before Ian Chiles converted a 3-point play to put the Bears up 75-74. Okoroba then hit two more free throws at the 2:54 mark to give the Pirates a 76-75 lead.

DeWayne Jackson gave Morgan State a 77-76 lead with 1:43 to play with a layup, before senior forward Wesley Dunning (Washington, D.C.) tied the game at 77-77 with a free throw with 1:25 left. Chiles hit a layup with 1:08 left to give Morgan State a 79-77 lead.

The Pirates had the ball with 4.9 seconds left, down 80-78, but Williams' three at the buzzer hit the front of the rim.

Morgan State led 14-9 with 12:12 left in the first half, but the Pirates tied the score at 14-14 after junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) hit a 3-pointer, causing the Bears to burn a timeout. The Morgan State bench picked up a technical foul during that break, and Powers hit the ensuing free throws to tie the score.

But the Bears answered with a 12-2 run to take a 26-16 lead at the 8:57 mark after an Anthony Hubbard layup, and a Chiles 3-point play with 5:23 left in the half gave Morgan State a 33-20 lead.

Powers cut the lead to 35-27 with 4:24 left in the half with a pair of free throws, before back-to-back baskets from Jackson gave the Bears a 39-27 lead with 3:10 left in the half.

Blake Bozeman gave Morgan State a 42-29 lead with 1:21 left in the half with a 3-pointer.

The Pirates did score the last four points of the half, though, thanks to a pair of Powers free throws with five seconds left in the half and a Mercado jumper from the top of the key as the clock ran out. Morgan State led 42-33 at the break.

Powers had 12 points and five assists at the half.

The Pirates began to claw back in the second half, even though the Bears led 53-49 with 13:39 left in the second half. Hampton then went on a 6-0 spurt to take a 55-53 lead after a 3-pointer from Williams with 12:20 left.

Williams added another trey at the 11:18 mark to give Hampton a 58-55 lead. Yet another Williams 3-pointer with 10:19 remaining gave the Pirates a 61-57 lead.

Morgan State fought back and briefly took a 66-65 lead with 8:18 to play, before Okoroba hit a layup with 8:00 left to give the Pirates a 67-66 lead. The game then turned into a back-and-forth affair, and the score was tied 70-70 at the 6:36 mark after Powers hit a free throw.

The Pirates shot 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the floor and hit seven of their 19 3-pointers (36.8 percent), as well as 31 of their 36 free throws (86.1 percent). Hampton also held a slim 39-38 edge on the glass.

Morgan State shot 46.0 percent (29-for-63) from the floor and hit six of its 15 3-pointers.

Jackson led the Bears (5-9, 2-1 MEAC) with 24 points.

The Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they take on Coppin State at 8 p.m. at the HU Convocation Center. 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.