HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team closed out the first half strong on Monday night, then carried that momentum through the second half en route to a 69-65 win over James Madison at the HU Convocation Center.

It was Hampton's first ever win over the Dukes, and all three of the Pirates' wins this season have come at home.

Freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) led the Pirates (3-10) with 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting, hitting three of his five 3-point attempts. He also had five assists. Junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) added 12 points off the bench, while junior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) recorded his second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Dukes opened the game with an 8-2 run, taking that lead at the 15:44 mark after a layup from Alioune Diouf. James Madison went on to take a 19-8 lead – its largest of the night – after a jumper from Andre Nation with 11:49 left in the first half.

When Rayshawn Goins hit a free throw with 8:15 left in the first half to give the Dukes a 23-13 lead, the Pirates responded by going on a 17-4 run, taking a 30-27 lead with 38 seconds left in the half after a fast-break dunk from Maxwell.

Nation hit two free throws with 27 seconds left in the half to cut Hampton's lead to 30-29 at the break.

Goins hit a free throw with 17:47 left in the second half to tie the game at 32-32, then the Dukes again tied the game at 34-34 at the 16:38 mark after a Nation layup. But the Pirates answered with a 9-0 run, going up 43-34 at the 13:13 mark after a layup from freshman guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.).

A 7-2 Dukes run cut the lead to 45-41 with 10:53 to play, but the Pirates went on a 13-4 run of their own to take a 58-45 lead with 6:05 left after Maxwell stuffed a one-handed dunk.

A Powers 3-pointer with 4:20 left in the game gave Hampton its largest lead of the game, 61-47.

James Madison then went on a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 63-61 with 2:04 remaining after a fast-break layup from Devon Moore. Mercado answered with a pair of free throws with 1:54 to play to put Hampton up 65-61.

Powers later added a pair of free throws at the 48-second mark to grow the lead to 66-61.

The Dukes cut the lead to 68-65 with 21 seconds left after two free throws from Nation, and Ron Curry nearly tied the game with a trey with nine seconds to play. His shot missed, though, and once senior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.) hit a free throw with five seconds left, it iced the game.

The Pirates shot 46.2 percent (24-for-52) from the floor – including a 50.0 percent clip (13-for-26) in the second half – hitting seven of their 19 3-pointers (36.8 percent) and 14 of their 28 free throws. Hampton out-rebounded the Dukes 35-33.

James Madison shot 40.8 percent (20-for-49) from the floor, but turned the ball over 17 times for 19 Hampton points. The Dukes did have a 14-0 edge in second-chance points, though.

Goins led the Dukes (7-8) with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they head to Washington, D.C. to take on rival Howard at 4 p.m. in a MEAC matchup. 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.