Hampton 81, Howard 78

Senior forward Du’Vaughn Maxwell had 19 points and 10 rebounds, leading Hampton to an 81-78 victory over Howard on Saturday night at Burr Arena in Washington, D.C.

Maxwell was one of four players who scored in double figures for Hampton (15-11, 10-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), which has won seven of its last eight.

Sophomore guard Brian Darden had 15 points for Hampton.

Freshman guard James Daniel scored a game-high 38 points for Howard (6-21, 4-8), which has lost four in a row and six of seven. Freshman forward Tyler Stone added 15 points.

The teams traded leads in the opening minutes before Howard staged a 10-0 run to go up 13-5 on a 3-pointer by Daniel with 14:30 remaining in the first half. The Bison maintained a slim lead until the Pirates tied the score on a layup by freshman swingman James Miller with 3:18 to play in the half.

Hampton led by as many as four before taking a 39-37 lead into the locker room at the break.

Daniel poured in 19 points in the first half, but the Pirates shot 46.4 percent from the field while holding the Bison to 34.6 percent shooting.

Howard move back in front early in the second half, staging a 10-2 run to take a 51-44 lead on a 3-pointer by Daniel with 15:02 to go. Hampton responded with a 9-2 surge to tie the score at 53 with 12:50 remaining.

The score was tied again at 59 when Pirates sophomore guard Deron Powers made a 3-pointer with 8:28 to play, sparking a 12-0 run.

Howard rallied from a 13-point deficit to cut Hampton’s lead to one with six seconds to go, but the Pirates held on.