Pirates’ season ends on cold shooting night
22-point night from Warren can’t save HU as offense sputters
Winter had one final deep freeze planned for Hampton basketball.
Following a thrilling buzzer-beater win in the first round of the Big South men’s basketball tournament, Hampton’s shooting went painfully cold as the Pirates fell 67-52 to Radford in a conference quarterfinal Monday.
Senior guard Davion Warren scored a game-high 22 points but shot just 6 for 19 from the field. Sophomore point guard Deuce Dean added 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Overall, the Pirates shot 33%.
Radford’s Shaquan Jules scored a team-high 15 points as the Highlanders advanced to Thursday’s semifinals to play Campbell or Gardner-Webb. The Big South championship game is Sunday.
Hampton concludes the season 11-14 overall.
Hanging tough
Hampton nearly erased a poor start after falling behind 11-2 in the first five minutes.
The Pirates pulled within 16-14 before a different disaster struck. Two starters — Dean and forward Dajour Dickens — committed their second personal fouls, and coach Buck Joyner kept them on the bench for the remainder of the half.
And while their absences hurt, the Pirates mostly held firm with substitutes Elijah Seward, Saheem Anthony and Raymond Bethea, Jr., who hit the buzzer-beating
winner in the Big South firstround win over Presbyterian.
Hampton cut the deficit to two again at 31-29 before Radford closed with a quick burst for a 35-29 halftime lead.
Cold shooting
The momentum Hampton patched together with the makeshift lineup at the end of the first half dissipated quickly in the second half as rim clangs repeatedly frustrated the Pirates in the final 20 minutes.
Hampton made just three of its first 16 shots as Radford comfortably padded its lead to near 20.
Warren, a first-team all-conference selection, had his usual share of shots, but they would not fall and the Highlanders were always there for the rebounds — a key matchup heading into the game as the Pirates ranked 321st in the nation in rebounding margin and Radford 16th.
Bumpy year ends
The bumpy season that included a near month-long COVID pause in January could set the stage for future success.
HU deployed a fresh lineup with sophomores including Dean, Chris Shelton and Daniel Banister, who suffered a season-ending injury in February.
With the NCAA adding extra eligibility years due to the COVID19 pandemic, Hampton could return its seniors like Warren, the runner-up for the Big South Player
of the Year, but certainly expects to return other players like Dickens, one of the nation’s top shot blockers, Marquis Godwin and Bethea.