WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – The Savannah State Tigers fell to Hampton University 59-46 in their first appearance in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Wednesday night at Joel Coliseum in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

The Tigers entered the tournament as the number one seed, clinching the regular season conference title with a 14-2 conference record and a 21-10 overall record. Hampton was the 8^th seed and defeated Morgan State University in the opening round to make it to the quarterfinals.

The Pirates will continue on to face the winner of the No. 4 Bethune-Cookman and No. 5 North Carolina Central match in the semifinals Friday.

Two minutes into the contest, Rashad Hassan sank a jumper to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead. Hampton quickly answered with a dunk from Danny Agbelese, and a 3-pointer from Christopher Tolson to tie the game up at 5.

Hampton and Savannah State tied the game up five more times in the first half. With 16 seconds left, Hampton's Jasper Williams sank a layup to give the Pirates a 23-20 lead. Savannah State's Arnold Louis tipped in a ball with 1 second left to for a 22-23 score into the locker room.

It was all Pirates in the second half, as the Tigers struggled to tie the game, coming within only 2 points of Hampton's lead. Deric Rudolph hit a 3-pointer with 8:36 on the clock to cut the Pirates lead to two points, at 37-35.

Hampton answered with a 7-0 run to take a 48-37 lead with 5 minutes remaining. The Tigers struggled from the field, managing only a 24.2 percent shooting clip from the floor in the second half. Rudolph, who leads the MEAC in 3-pointers made, was 2-for-7 from outside the arc with only 6 total points.

Blackman led the Tigers with 12 points, while Rashad Hassan and Arnonld Louis added 8 apiece. The Pirates had three players in double figures. Tolson led with 16 points, followed by Darrion Pellum with 12 and Wesley Dunning tacked on 10.