Dover, Del. (Feb. 6, 2012) --- Tahj Tate and Casey Walker led five players in double figures with 16 points each in Delaware State's 77-69 win over Hampton in Memorial Hall this evening.
The Hornets won their fifth straight game to improve to 9-11 overall and 6-3 in the MEAC. The streak is DSU's longest since winning nine in a row during the 2006-07 season.
Hampton fell to 8-15 and 4-6.
Marques Oliver had 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds for DSU. Jay Threatt tallied 12 points, a season-high 10 assists and five steals for the Hornets, while Tyshawn Bell came off the bench to chip in 12 points.
Threatt now has 400 assists at Delaware State, 20 shy of school-record hold Darren Shine, who dished out 420 from 2004-07.
Mike Tuitt was high man for Hampton with 16 points. Christopher Tolson added 14 points for the Pirates.
Delaware State outscored Hampton 30-7 off the bench. Tate came off the bench after sitting out the previous game due to an ankle injury. Bell, the Hornets' top scoring reserve, averaged 8.1 points per game entering the contest.
Delaware State led by as many as 11 points in the first half before settling for a 39-31 lead at the break. The Hornets were 17-for-26 from the field in the first half (65.4%), while forcing the Pirates into 10-orf-27 shooting (37.0%) in the opening 20 minutes.
Hampton to Hampton stormed out the gate to start the second half to pull ahead. The Pirates scored the first nine points of the second half, and opened up a 40-39 lead on a layup by Wesley Dunning with 17:49 left to play.
The Hornets trailed 46-43 before taking control. Bell sparked a 9-0 DSU run with a three-pointer and Tate capped off the run with a layup to give the Hornets a 52-46 lead with 9:56 remaining in the game.
Hampton pulled to within 65-63 after a jumper by Tolson with 2:36 left, but Threatt hit two free throws and Walker knocked down a three-pointer and a layup to stretch their Hornets' lead to 72-63 with 1:23 to play.
Delaware State was 30-for-53 from the field for the game (56.6%), including 5-of-16 from three-point territory. Hampton was 26-for-52 from the floor (50.0%), including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.
The Pirates won the rebound battle 29-21, while Delaware State took better care of the ball. The Hornets committed just eight turnovers, while forcing Hampton into 13.
Delaware State played its second straight game without starting center Kendall Gray, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Gray is tops in the MEAC (tied for eight in Div. I) in blocks at 3.2 per game. He is also second on the team in rebounding at 4.8 per game.
The Hornets will go for their sixth straight win on Saturday at Coppin State. Game time is 4:00 p.m. at the Coppin Physical Education Center in Baltimore, Md.
