HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak snapped on Monday night by a 62-59 loss to rival Norfolk State at the HU Convocation Center in front of a national ESPNU audience.

Junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) and junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) each had a team-high 12 points for the Pirates (10-14, 7-4 MEAC), while Maxwell – the reigning MEAC Player of the Week – also had a team-high 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.

Freshman guards Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) and Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.) each added 10 points.

Hampton found itself down 59-47 with 7:08 to play, but the Pirates responded with 11 straight points to cut the Spartans' lead to 59-58 with 2:47 to play after Maxwell hit a jumper in the paint. Pendarvis Williams put Norfolk State up 60-58 with a free throw with 1:15 left, before Powers hit a free throw with 58 seconds left to cut the lead to 60-59.

Malcolm Hawkins came through for the Spartans, though, hitting a layup with 27 seconds left – and ending a nearly seven-minute drought – to put Norfolk State up 62-59.

The Pirates had several shots in the closing seconds, but could not convert.

Both teams struggled offensively to open the game, and the Pirates were up 5-0 at the 17:24 mark of the first half – and all of those points came at the free throw line. Maxwell converted the first field goal of the game at the 16:39 mark with a layup to put the Pirates up 7-2.

Mercado added a 3-pointer at the 13:43 mark to give Hampton a 12-7 lead, and Powers gave the Pirates a 21-15 lead at the 7:44 mark with a trey of his own. Maxwell hit a free throw with 5:51 left in the half to put the Pirates up 24-17, but the Spartans answered with an 11-2 run to take a 28-26 lead at the 2:52 mark on a Hawkins layup.

The teams went back-and-forth to close the half before heading into the locker rooms tied at 32-32.

The Spartans opened the second half on a 16-4 run, taking a 48-36 lead with 12:27 to play after two free throws from Brandon Goode. The Spartans' largest lead of the night came at the 11:12 mark, after Rashid Gaston slammed home a dunk to put Norfolk State up 51-37.

From there, the Pirates stopped the bleeding, holding steady with the Spartans for several minutes before making their late push.

The Pirates shot 30.4 percent (21-for-69) from the floor, hitting three of their 16 3-pointers and going just 14-for-23 (60.9 percent) from the free throw line. Hampton also held a healthy 55-35 edge on the glass.

Norfolk State (17-10, 12-0 MEAC) shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the floor and hit three of its 14 3-pointers. The Spartans only hit 11 of their 22 free throws.

Hawkins led three Spartans in double figures with 18 points.

The Pirates will return to action on Wednesday, when they take on Maryland Eastern Shore at 7:30 p.m. at the W.P. Hytche Athletic 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.