Hampton Repeats as MEAC Tournament Champs in 81-69 Win over No. 3 S.C. State - Mar 13, 2016
Brian Darden (6'2''-G-92) had a team-high 22 points, while teammate Reginald Johnson (6'2''-G-94) added 21 points to lead the Hampton University men's basketball team to its second consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in an 81-69 win over South Carolina State, on Saturday afternoon at Norfolk Scope Arena.
Hampton head coach Edward Joyner , Jr., who won his third MEAC title at Hampton, was named the tournament's Outstanding Coach, while Johnson, Jr. and Quinton Chievous (6'6''-G-92) earned All-Tournament honors. Johnson, Jr. was also named the tournament's Outstanding Performer.
The Pirates (21-10) started the game on a 4-0 run but back-to-back buckets by the Bulldogs (19-14) tied it up early. A basket by S.C. State's Gabe McCray (6'7''-F) at the 12:59 mark in the first half broke a 17-all tie and gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game.
A layup by Luka Radovic (6'9''-F-92) with 14 seconds left extended S.C. State's lead to three, 39-36, but Darden knocked down a big 3-pointer four seconds later to tie the game at 39-all going into halftime.
The Bulldogs started the second half on a 10-3 run that was capped by a buzzer-beating trey from All-Tournament selection Eric Eaves (6'2''-G) at the 17:02 mark.
The game remained close until late in the period when the Pirates turned up the intensity on both sides of the ball. In the final 4:06 of the game, Hampton outscored S.C. State 14-2 to claim the conference title.
Eaves led the Bulldogs with 25 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Tashombe Riley (6'7''-F), S.C. State's other All-Tournament selectee, and McCray each added 10 points.
Hampton also got double-digit scoring performances from Jervon Pressley (6'8''-F-95) and Chievous who had 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Courtesy of MEAC
MEAC Tournament Final: Hampton - South Carolina State 81-69 MEAC Tournament Semifinals: Hampton - Savannah State 89-55 South Carolina State - Norfolk State 67-65
All-MEAC Awards 2016 - Mar 13, 2016
All-MEAC 1st Team 2016
Chievous
Daniel
Johnson
Short
Elliott
All-Tournament MVP: Reginald Johnson (6'2''-G-94) of Hampton Player of the Year: James Daniel (5'11''-PG) of Howard Defensive Player of the Year: Laron Smith (6'8''-F-93) of Beth.-Cookman Rookie of the Year: Brendan Devine (6'7''-F) of Univ.Sciences Coach of the Year: Murray Garvin of S.Carolina St.