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Hampton tops Manhattan, advances to play Kentucky

Mar 18, 2015 - 4:43 AM Dayton, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Quinton Chievous and Reginald Johnson each scored 15 points as Hampton defeated Manhattan 74-64 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at University of Dayton Arena.

Chievous also grabbed 13 rebounds before leaving the game with three minutes left due to an ankle injury. Brian Darden added 13 points for the Pirates (17-17), who will travel to Louisville for a meeting with top overall seed Kentucky on Thursday.

Hampton had a season-high 20 assists, with Deron Powers leading the way with seven dimes.

"Like I told the guys at halftime, if you want a chance to do great things you have to put yourself in the situation that you can do the things that are great," Hampton coach Edward Joyner Jr. said.

Shane Richards led the Jaspers (19-14) with 17 points. Emmy Andujar posted 11 points and eight rebounds in the setback.

An Ashton Pankey layup cut Manhattan's deficit to one with 13:42 remaining in the game, but the Jaspers could not seem to get over the hump throughout the night.

Hampton maintained a two-possession lead for much of the half and stretched its margin to 10 after Darden's jumper made it 62-52 with under six minutes on the clock.

The Jaspers ripped off six quick points over the next minute to cut their deficit to four, then the Pirates countered with a 6-0 run as Manhattan's offense got stagnant in the closing minutes.

Richards fired in a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left that ended over three minutes of scoreless basketball from the Jaspers, but it was too late as Hampton made its free throws down the stretch to advance.

"Just and off night for us," Manhattan coach Steve Masiello said. "I thought we let our offense dictate our defense a little bit."

The Jaspers missed their first five shots from the field in the early going as Hampton jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Andujar eventually got Manhattan on the board nearly three minutes in, then Richards knocked down a 3-pointer seconds later following a Pirates turnover.

Powers' trey with under four minutes to go in the first gave Hampton a 12- point lead, but Manhattan closed the half on an 8-3 burst that brought it back within 38-31 at the break. The Pirates shot 50 percent in the opening 20 minutes and limited the Jaspers to 11-of-33 shooting -- including 3-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Pankey's slam before the first media timeout of the second half trimmed Hampton's lead to 42-39, but Jervon Pressley followed with a dunk of his own to keep Hampton out in front.

Game Notes

Hampton became the seventh team in NCAA history to win a tournament with a losing record ... The Pirates are 6-1 on a neutral floor this season ... Hampton improved to 2-3 in the NCAA Tournament ... Manhattan fell to 3-9 in the NCAA Tournament ... The Jaspers shot 23-of-62 for the game and 6-of-25 from 3-point range ... The two teams combined to shoot 31-for-55 from the free throw line.