Hampton seeks payback in quarterfinal
Hampton University’s men’s basketball team will try to avenge two regular-season losses — and keep its season alive — in a Big South tournament quarterfinal tonight at Radford.
The second-seeded Highlanders defeated HU 79-66 and 76-65 on back-to-back days last month, although Radford — after a firstround bye — enters the tournament on a four-game losing streak in the conference.
The teams play at 6 p.m., and the game will be shown online on ESPN3.
Radford was swept at home by both Winthrop — the Big South regular-season champion — and Gardner-Webb before a recent nonconference win over Mount Aloysius, a Division III college in Pennsylvania.
Seventh-seeded Hampton (11-13), meanwhile, is coming
off a heart-stopping first-round victory over Presbyterian in which Raymond Bethea Jr. hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left. Davion Warren, a first-team All-Big South selection, led HU with 19 points and Russell “Deuce” Dean added 17.
The balanced Highlanders rely on guard Fah’Mir Ali, who leads them with 10.3 points and 3.8 assists per game. He was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team.
Dravon Mangum (9.5) and Lewis Djonkam (8.9) are among seven Highlanders who average at least 6.8 points per game. former Hampton Roads Academy guard Bryan Hart is averaging 2.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game as a reserve.
Radford has been defensively oriented, scoring 68 points per game and yielding 64.6. The Highlanders were rebuilding after their best player, Carlik Jones, moved on to Louisville as a graduate transfer.
In other semifinals tonight, No. 8 seed High Point (9-14) visits No. 1 Winthrop (20-1), No. 5 Longwood (11-15) travels to No. 4 UNC Asheville (10-9) and No. 6 Gardner-Webb (11-14) plays at No. 3 Campbell (15-9).