Hampton 67, South Carolina State 56

Hampton University jumped out to a six-point halftime lead and held on to beat South Carolina State, 67-56, in the key MEAC tilt in Orangeburg, S.C., on Monday night.

The Pirates, who were led by forward Jervon Pressley with 14 points and six rebounds, improved to 20-17 all-time in the series, including four straight wins against the Bulldogs.

South Carolina State, which was led by 13 points and seven boards from forward Matthew Hezekiah, fell behind 28-22 at the break but returned fire early in the second half and tied the game at 36-36 with 13 minutes left.

But after the Bulldogs briefly grabbed a 41-39 lead, Hampton went on a 14-0 tear and ran away from there to improve to 10-10 overall and 5-2 in MEAC play — good for a tie for third in the conference standings.

The victory was also Hampton’s second straight, while SCSU (7-13 overall, 3-4 in MEAC) saw a two-game win streak snapped.

Pirates leading scorer Du’Vaughn Maxwell turned in another solid game with 11 points, five rebounds and five blocks. Hampton also got 12 points from guard Ramon Merchado, who was 4-for-6 from long range and also added six boards. Pirates guard Ke’Ron Brown added 10 points in the win.

SCSU guard Adama “Louis” Adams, the MEAC’s reigning Player of the Week, had 10 points in the loss for the Bulldogs, who also got a double-digit game from guard Karon Wright with 12 points. The Bulldogs committed 20 turnovers in the loss.

Hampton, which played the second of four straight road games Monday, returns to action Saturday at conference foe Coppin State.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, wrapped up their four-game homestand with the loss, and they’ll next open up a three-game road trip beginning Saturday at FAMU. South Carolina State is currently mired in an 18-game MEAC losing streak on the road.

Interested betting on the South Carolina team? – Don’t miss out on reading our guide about sports betting in South Carolina first!