Mullen returns at ideal time, lifts Pirates with clutch shot
WASHINGTON — Hampton has been without star forward Kyrese Mullen for the past four games due to injury, but his return Friday was perfectly timed.
With the Pirates down 55-54 and less than 10 seconds left, guard Ford Cooper found Mullen in the post off an inbound pass. Mullen hit the brakes a foot away from the basket and put up a shot with a defender all over him that kissed off the backboard and through the net, giving Hampton a one-point lead with six seconds left and a 56-55 victory in the first round of the CAA Tournament.
“At that time and moment, we needed to win,” Mullen said. “I felt like that was my perfect timing to step up. I haven’t been scoring the whole game and they needed me right there, so that’s what the coaches said — everybody is going to be accounted for. So everybody contributes to this win tonight.”
Elon had time for one more shot and Isaac Harrell took a 3-point attempt from the left wing that bounced off the back iron and missed as the buzzer sounded.
“It felt like that last shot, to me, took 35 seconds to get from his hand to the basket,” Hampton head coach Buck Joyner said. “When I saw it hit the basket and bounce up, I think a lot of people don’t realize is coaches, we’re competitors too, so the competitor came out in me. I almost forgot to shake hands and everything. I was so happy and wanted that win so bad for them. Not necessarily as much for myself, but for them for the work that they put in.”
The victory was Hampton’s first in the CAA Tournament since the Pirates joined the conference last season. Hampton will play No. 6 seed Delaware in the second round at 8:30 p.m. today.
Hampton’s hot start helped as the Pirates went into the half clicking on all cylinders with a 34-25 lead. Hampton’s defense was stifling, forcing Elon to turn the ball over 11 times in the half. Elon didn’t even hit a field goal until almost 10 minutes into the game.
“The one message to them was if we’re going to have any chance of doing anything in this tournament and winning this tournament, it’s not gonna take one of us; it’s gonna take all of us,” Joyner said. “I think that’s what happened tonight. Everybody that played contributed somehow, even if it’s picking it up on defense, picking us up inspirationally, everybody around us contributed. And I think that’s what pulled us out the win.”
After shooting 43% in the first half, Hampton’s offense cooled off and the Pirates shot 31% in the second half. Elon found a rhythm and increased its shooting percentage from 26.9% to 40% in the second half.
Hampton eventually saw its lead disappear after Elon took over with four minutes remaining on a 9-0 run. The Pirates didn’t falter, though. A 3-pointer from Jerry Deng — who led Hampton with 16 points — helped regain the lead and Mullen’s clutch shot put it away in what Joyner praised as a great showing of mental toughness.
“I think that the intentional fortitude that we showed tonight showed the kind of team that we want to be the rest of this week,” Joyner said. “They withstood the run, they withstood them taking the lead and we won.”