BALTIMORE, Md. – Four Pirates scored in double figures on Thursday, as the Hampton University men's basketball team ended the regular season with an 89-82 win over Coppin State in the Physical Education Complex.
The Pirates (14-15, 11-5 MEAC) have won three of their last four to close out the regular season.
Kalin Fisher led the Pirates with a career-high 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting, while
Lawrence Cooks added 15 points and five assists.
Branden Aughburns came off the bench to add 12 points, while
Akim Mitchell scored 11 points.
AJ Astroth grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
The Pirates shot 50.0 percent (30-for-60) from the floor – including a 57.1 percent clip in the second half – and hit eight of their 19 3-pointers (42.1 percent) and 21 of 31 free throws (67.7 percent). Hampton scored 24 points off of 21 Coppin State turnovers.
Coppin State led throughout the first half, leading by as many as 11 after Dejuan Clayton hit two free throws at the 5:17 mark to give the Eagles a 37-26 edge. But the Pirates answered by going on an 11-3 run, cutting the lead to 40-37 after
Devon Oakley hit two free throws with 1:16 left in the half.
Coppin State led 45-9 at the half.
Mitchell led the Pirates with 11 points at the half.
A fastbreak layup from Clayton gave the Eagles a 62-51 lead with 14:30 remaining in the contest, but the Pirates went on a 14-3 run to tie the game at 65-65 with 9:03 to play after Cooks drained a three. An Aughburns layup with 6:26 remaining gave Hampton its first lead of the night at 70-69.
That bucket kicked off an 11-4 Hampton run that gave the Pirates a 79-74 lead after an Astroth free throw with 2:32 remaining.
Tre' Thomas cut the lead to 81-79 with two free throws with 1:36 left, but the Pirates went 6-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch – and Cooks accentuated the victory with a dunk as time expired.
Coppin State (8-23, 7-9 MEAC) shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) from the floor and made 10 of 24 3-pointers (41.7 percent). The Eagles also held a 39-31 edge on the glass.
Clayton led four Eagles in double figures with 21 points.
For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5757, or visit the official Pirates website at
www.hamptonpirates.com.