HU Pirates Postseason Run Ended by UNCW, 79-65, In CAA Tourney
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hampton University men’s basketball team’s postseason run at the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament comes to an end with a 79-65 loss to UCNW. The Pirates struggled from the floor in the first half. Coach Ivan Thomas‘s side in the final 20 minutes was able to cut the Seahawks lead down to eight points. UNCW made shots down the stretched to secure the victory.
Both Hampton and UNCW started out the contest slow on the offensive end. Both sides committed a slew of early turnovers. Bo Montgomery got the Seahawks on the board with a layup. The Pirates would respond with a George Beale Jr. three-pointer from the right corner. Once Again Noah Farrakhan picked up an early foul before the under-16 media timeout.
Hampton struggled on the offensive end throughout the first half. Trevor Smith came off the bench and hit a jumper to end a three-minute scoring drought. UNCW took advantage of HU’s offense woes going on a 12-2 run taking their first double-digit lead of the game. Heading into the next media stoppage the Pirates trailed 13-5.
The Pirates at the 10-minute mark were shooting less than 15 percent from the field. Kyrese Mullen got to work inside the paint halting HU’s five-minute scoreless streak. Montgomery continued to hit shots for UNCW. The Memphis, Tenn. product finished the first half with 15 points for the Seahawks. As a unit, UNCW shot 61 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. Hampton entered the half down 45-28.
Coming out of the stanza the Pirates offense started to click. While HU still struggled from three, Hampton had success on the offensive glass with second chance points. Trevor Smith provided Coach Thomas’s side with a spark off the bench. Smith in the second half alone produced 12 points while going 4-for-7 from the field. The Newport News, Va. native, production helped the Pirates cut UNCW’s lead down to eight points 65-57.
Coming out of the final media timeout, the Seahawks manufactured a 10-2 run to jump out to a 17 point advantage. UNCW continued to score from inside the paint. In the final three minutes, the Seahawks were perfect from the charity stripe. While Smith, Farrakhan, and Etienne Strothers made shots in final moments, Hampton’s surge ran out of time.
