HAMPTON, Va. – Despite leading with a minute and a half to play, the Hampton University men's basketball team fell in its home opener to American University on Tuesday afternoon, as the Eagles escaped the HU Convocation Center with a 64-60 win.
 
The Pirates fell to 1-5 on the season.
 
Junior guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) and redshirt junior guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) led the Pirates with 14 points each, and Powers added five assists. Meikle and junior forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) each had five rebounds.
 
Redshirt freshman forward Charles Wilson-Fisher (Los Angeles, Calif.) added eight points.
 
The Pirates shot 50.0 percent (24-for-48) from the floor and hit five of 15 3-pointers (33.3 percent). Hampton was also 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) from the free throw line, while also out-scoring American 17-0 off the bench and 28-18 in the paint.
 
Meikle hit a jumper with 1:34 left to give the Pirates a 60-59 lead. But Pee Wee Gardner converted a 3-point play with 20 seconds left in regulation to give the Eagles (4-2) a 62-60 lead. Powers missed a layup in the closing seconds, and Kevin Panzer hit two free throws with a second left to push the game to its final margin.
 
The Pirates opened the game on a 13-5 run, taking that lead at the 15:26 mark of the first half following a jumper from Meikle. American responded with a 13-5 run of its own, tying the game at 18-18 on a 3-pointer from Jesse Reed at the 10:57 mark.
 
Wilson-Fisher answered with a layup just over a minute later to give Hampton a 20-18 lead.
 
A fastbreak layup from Gardner with 7:17 left in the half gave the Eagles their first lead of the game at 24-22, before the Pirates fought back and tied the game at 31-31 with 2:32 left in the half following a layup from sophomore guard Lawrence Cooks (Charlotte, N.C.).
 
The Eagles answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 37-31 lead, before junior guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) hit a trey with 30 seconds left in the half, sending American into the locker room with a 37-34 lead at the break.
 
The Pirates shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) from the floor in the first half.
 
Hampton opened the second half on a 7-0 run, taking a 40-37 lead at the 18:24 mark after a jumper from Meikle – who had six of the Pirates' seven points during that run. American didn't score in the second half until the 17:00 mark on a trey from John Schoof to tie the game at 40-40.
 
American went on an 11-3 run to take a 51-43 lead with 11:53 left, before Hampton answered with an 11-2 run to take a 54-53 lead on a jumper from Powers with 8:08 left.
 
A jumper from Gardner with 4:07 left put American up 59-56, before the Pirates scored the next four points to take that 60-59 lead in the closing minutes.
 
American shot 50.0 percent (24-for-48) from the floor and hit 11 of 26 3-pointers (42.3 percent). The Eagles also held a 25-24 edge in rebounding.
 
Reed led American with 21 points, while Gardner and Schoof each had 18 points.
 
The Pirates will be in Nashville, Tenn. on Tuesday to take on Tennessee State at 8 p.m. EST. 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.