NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Hampton University men's basketball team defeated Tennessee State 62-54 Tuesday evening at the Gentry Center, thanks to a balanced attack that saw four Pirates score in double figures.
 
The Pirates improved to 2-5 on the season.
 
Redshirt junior guard/forward Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) led the way with 15 points, hitting nine of his 10 free throws, to go along with seven rebounds. Junior guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.) added a season-high 14 points, going 8-for-12 from the charity stripe.
 
Junior guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) chipped in 11 points, and guard Quinton Chievous (Chicago, Ill.) recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
 
The Pirate shot 30.4 percent (17-for-56) from the floor and hit just four of 22 3-pointers (18.2 percent), but Hampton hit 24 of its 32 free throws for a 75.0 percent clip and out-rebounded the Tigers (2-6) 46-42.
 
Hampton was 17-for-23 from the charity stripe in the second half.
 
After Tennessee State held an early 6-4 lead, the Pirates went on an 11-2 run to take a 15-8 lead at the 11:20 mark after a jumper from Chievous. Junior forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) added two free throws at the 10:28 mark to give Hampton a 17-9 lead.
 
An 11-1 run gave the Tigers a 20-18 lead with 6:32 left in the half, and the teams exchanged baskets to close out the first half before Powers hit a jumper with 1:04 left to tie the game at 24-24.
 
Tennessee State opened the second half with a pair of Xavier Richards free throws to take a 26-24 lead, before the Pirates scored the next six points to take a 30-26 lead with 18:21 left to play after Chievous sank a layup.
 
A 7-3 Tennessee State spurt tied the game at 33-33 with 16:21 left, before the Pirates scored the next four points and took a 37-33 lead after a layup from Meikle. The Tigers used a 5-0 spurt to take a 38-37 lead with 12:42 left to play.
 
The Pirates answered with an 11-3 run, taking a 48-41 lead with 5:10 remaining after a layup from Brown. Tennessee State closed the gap to within four on two occasions in the closing minutes, but the Pirates kept them at bay.
 
Hampton scored its last 12 points from the free throw line – including a pair from Powers with 20 seconds left that gave the Pirates their largest lead of the night at 62-52.
 
Tennessee State shot 31.5 percent (17-for-54) from the floor and went just 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) from behind the arc. The Tigers shot just 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) from the free throw line and had 14 turnovers.
 
Jay Harris and Christian Mekowulu led the Tigers with nine points each.
 
The Pirates will return to the HU Convocation Center on Saturday to take on Coppin State at 6 p.m. 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.