DOVER, Del. – The Hampton University men's basketball team got back into the win column on Monday evening at Memorial Hall, beating host Delaware State 57-50.

The Pirates (12-15, 9-4 MEAC) have won seven of their last nine games. Hampton finishes the road portion of its schedule with a 7-8 mark.

Junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) led the way with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) added 11 points and sophomore center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) chipped in 10 points.

Delaware State led 7-2 in the early going, but the Pirates cut the lead to one on multiple occasions before a Mercado layup at the 4:28 mark tied the score at 15-15. The Hornets then went on a 9-2 run to take a 24-17 lead with 1:39 left in the half after Albert Thomas hit a layup.

The Hornets led 26-22 at the half, thanks largely to 11 points off of 10 Hampton turnovers.

The Pirates first took the lead at the 15:51 mark of the second half, when a fast-break dunk from freshman guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) gave Hampton a 30-29 lead. A free throw from freshman guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.) at the 15:04 mark put the Pirates up 32-31.

Hampton never relinquished that lead.

Brown's free throw kicked off a 9-0 Hampton run, and when junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) hit two free throws with 11:42 left, the Pirates lead 41-31.

Thomas hit two free throws with 4:03 left to cut Hampton's lead to 53-47, but that was as close as Delaware State would get; Powers hit four free throws in the last minute of the game to seal the win for the Pirates.

The Pirates shot 40.4 percent (21-for-52) from the floor and hit three of their nine 3-pointers. Hampton was also 12-for-17 (70.6 percent) from the free throw line. Hampton held a 43-31 edge on the glass and led 12-8 on the fast break.

Delaware State (12-15, 7-6 MEAC) shot just 31.0 percent (18-for-58) from the floor and made only three of 20 3-pointers (15.0 percent).

Oliver and May each had 11 points to lead the Hornets.

The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they take on Florida A&M at 6 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.