HAMPTON, Va.- Quinton Chievous scored 26 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead Hampton to a 75-52 win over Savannah State in a game played at the HU Convocation Center.
The crowd of 3,521 saw the Pirates break open a close game with a big run early in the second period.
Savannah State opened the second half with a layup and a pair of free throws from Lenjo Kilo to take a 32-29 lead with 18:45 remaining. HU responded with a 20-4 run that have the Pirates a 49-36 advantage with 12:23 on the clock.
The Tigers sliced their deficit to 10 with 10:25 left but a 9-1 spurt by Hampton put the Pirates up 60-42 with 7:31 remaining.
Hampton followed that up with 11 unanswered points to grab their largest lead of the contest at 75-49 with 2:43 left in the game.
The Tigers could only muster a jumper and a free throw by freshman reserve Dexter McClanahan with 1:48 to go. Chris Martin had a team-high 15 points for SSU while Troyce Manassa added 12 points. Kilo added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Savannah State (7-10, 3-3 MEAC). The Tigers shot 38.2 percent from the field and only made 2 of 17 of their 3-point attempts.
Hampton (11-7, 7-0 MEAC) had four players in double figures and out-rebounded the Tigers 44 to 32.
The Pirates shot 42.1 percent from the field and made 45 percent of their 3-point attempts.
HU opened the game by scoring the first seven points.
Down by eight, Savannah State put together a 9-1 run to tie the game at 21 with 4:54 remaining in the half.
With the contest knotted at 25, Hampton went ahead 28-25 with 49 seconds left after a 3-pointer by Lawrence Cooks but SSU answered when Martin drilled a 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining to send the teams into intermission tied at 28.
Tip ins:
Leno Kilo had his third double-double of the season.....Martin led the team in scoring for the eighth time this season
Hampton is the only unbeaten team in the MEAC....The win extended the Pirates winning streak to six.....HU has 10 players back from last season's MEAC Tournament title team
Up next:
SSU plays at Norfolk State on Jan. 25
HU hosts South Carolina State on Jan. 25
