WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lawrence Cooks' 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining helped the Hampton University men's basketball team defeat rival Howard 68-65 Monday night at the Burr Gymnasium.
 
The Pirates improved to 14-9 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
 
Hampton has won each of its last 12 games against Howard.
 
Reginald Johnson, Jr. led three Pirates in double figures with 22 points, going 8-for-21 from the floor and grabbing nine rebounds. Quinton Chievous recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 17 rebounds, while Dionte Adams had 12 points and 10 boards.
 
Adams also had three blocks.
 
Hampton shot 37.1 percent (26-for-70) from the floor and made four of 23 3-pointers. The Pirates also out-rebounded the Bison 48-41.
 
The Pirated led 65-63 with 2:51 remaining after a layup from Johnson, only to see the Bison tie the game up on a layup from James Daniel III with 1:00 left.
 
Cooks' bucket came 17 seconds later, and both of Daniel's looks in the final 28 seconds went wanting.
 
Hampton did not lead at all in the first half, and the Bison at one point led 25-14 after a pair of Daniel free throws capped a 9-0 Howard run. A Jalen Jones layup with 2:03 left in the frame gave the Bison a 43-32 lead.
 
But the Pirates ended the half with a 5-0 spurt, cutting the lead to 43-37 after Imani Miller sank a layup with 20 seconds left.
 
Johnson had 12 points at the break, and 10 of Adams' points came in the first half.
 
Hampton opened the second half on a 12-4 run, taking its first lead of the night at 49-47 when Brian Darden drained a three at the 14:04 mark. The game remained close for the rest of t he contest, and the Bison led 59-57 with 7:18 left after a Marcel Boyd layup.
 
Tyler Stone gave Howard a 61-59 lead with a pair of free throws with 5:36 remaining, before Hampton scored the next four points to take a 63-61 lead with 4:26 left on a layup from Johnson.
 
Howard (10-14, 4-5 MEAC) shot 36.5 percent (23-for-63) from the floor and went 0-for-13 from behind the arc. The Bison went 19-for-21 (90.5 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Daniel led the Bison with 20 points.
 
The Pirates will return to the Convocation Center on Monday, Feb. 15, to take on Morgan State live on ESPNU. 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.