ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Hampton University football team's three-game road swing ended at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on Saturday, as South Carolina State won 34-20.
 
The Pirates fell to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
 
Jerrell Antoine, making his first start of the season, completed 17 of 32 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. SeQuan Gooding caught five of those passes for a team-high 80 yards and a touchdown, while Twarn Mixson caught a team-high seven passes for 61 yards.
 
Mixson also threw a touchdown pass.
 
Christopher Dukes had 49 rushing yards on 14 carries; Dwayne Garrett had 48 yards on eight carries.
 
Joshua Thorne led the Pirates defense with 12 tackles, including three for loss. Justin Williams recorded his first interception of the season for the Bulldogs' lone turnover of the game.
 
The Pirates had 348 yards of total offense, but S.C. State (5-3, 4-1 MEAC) gained 369 yards.
 
The Bulldogs scored on their first possession of the game, capitalizing on a blocked punt with a 4-play, 15-yard drive that ended on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Caleb York to Taquan West to give S.C. State a 7-0 lead.
 
S.C. State later went on an 8-play, 76-yard drive that spanned the end of the first quarter into the second, going up 14-0 with 14:10 left in the half after York hit West from 39 yards out.
 
That score held through the end of the first half.
 
The Bulldogs got possession to open the third quarter, proceeding to go 83 yards in 13 plays before York threw his third touchdown of the game – a 9-yard strike to Lynard Jamison that put S.C. State up 21-0 with 9:37 left in the third quarter.
 
Hampton responded with its first scoring drive of the afternoon, going 50 yards in 10 plays before Mixson hit Antoine from 19 yards out with 4:33 left in the quarter. A missed PAT cut the Bulldogs' lead to 21-6.
 
But the Bulldogs answered immediately, when Antonio Hamilton returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to put S.C. State up 28-6 with 4:18 left in the quarter.
 
A 32-yard field goal from Tyler Scandrett put S.C. State up 31-6 with 1:23 left in the third quarter.
 
Hampton then embarked on an 8-play drive that spilled into the fourth quarter – and was aided by a roughing-the-punter penalty – before Antoine hit Rayshad Riddick from 25 yards out to cut S.C. State's lead to 31-13 with 13:24 remaining.
 
The Bulldogs answered on the ensuing possession, going up 34-13 on a 28-yard field goal from Scandrett.
 
After that drive, Antoine drove the Pirates down the field – recording completions of 42 and 21 yards, the latter going to Gooding for a touchdown that cut the lead to 34-20 with 8:28 left to play.
 
After the Pirates forced S.C. State to punt on the ensuing possession, Hampton was driving again deep into Bulldogs territory before Antoine was intercepted with 1:33 left to play.
 
The Pirates will have their home finale on Saturday, taking on Florida A&M at 1 p.m. For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.