DOVER, Del. – The Hampton University men's basketball team dropped its regular-season road finale on Monday evening, as the Pirates fell 85-75 to Delaware State in Memorial Hall.
 
The Pirates fell to 12-16 overall and 8-7 in the MEAC.
 
Redshirt junior guard/forward Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) led four Pirates in double figures with 21 points while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds, going 9-for-16 from the floor. Junior guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) and junior forward Jervon Pressley (Charlotte, N.C.) each added 15 points.
 
Junior guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) chipped in 11 points.
 
The Pirates shot 43.8 percent (28-for-64) from the floor – including a 62.1 percent clip (18-for-29) in the first half. Hampton shot just 28.6 percent (10-for-35) from the floor in the second half.
 
Hampton scored the first six points of the game, before Delaware State answered with a 14-4 run to take a 14-10 lead. The Pirates answered with six straight points, going up 16-14 with 13:00 left in the half after a 3-pointer from Darden.
 
A jumper from Kavon Waller capped a 17-7 run for Delaware State, giving the Hornets a 31-23 lead at the 9:09 mark. But the Pirates answered with a 12-2 run, taking a 35-33 lead with 4:58 left in the half after a jumper from Meikle.
 
Tyshawn Bell gave the Hornets a 39-37 lead with 54 seconds left in the half, but Meikle answered with a jumper with 12 seconds left, tying the game at 39-39 at the break.
 
Pressley, Darden, and Meikle each had eight points at the half.
 
In all, there were seven ties and seven lead changes in the first half.
 
The Hornets opened the second half on a 14-6 run, taking a 53-45 lead with 13:50 left in the second half after a jumper in the paint from Bell. A jumper from Meikle cut the lead to 59-51 with 11:22 left, but the Hornets responded with a 9-1 spurt to take a 68-52 lead.
 
From there, the Hornets kept control thanks to hot shooting, though the Pirates cut the lead to 82-75 with 1:30 left after Meikle converted a 3-point play.
 
But the Pirates would get no closer.
 
Delaware State (14-16, 8-7 MEAC) shot 50.0 percent (29-for-58) from the floor – including a 16-for-27 effort (59.3 percent) in the second half – and the Hornets hit 13 of their 26 3-pointers. Delaware State also held a 41-32 edge in rebounds.
 
Bell led four Hornets in double figures with 25 points.
 
The Pirates will play host to Norfolk State on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in their regular season finale. 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.