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The Hampton Pirates gave a slight scare to the #20 James Madison Dukes in the first half, but they couldn't close the deal. They wanted to continue their positive momentum following a 100-53 thrashing of Mary Baldwin.
Initially, it looked like Hampton could pull off a historic upset. The Pirates wanted to make history as the Dukes were the first top 25 team to come to Hampton in 35 years.
Hampton put together their best half of the season as they jumped out to an early 7-2 lead to start the game. James Madison responded with a 10-2 run, but they didn't hold the advantage for long. Pirate freshman Jerry Deng checked in, continuing where he left off against Mary Baldwin after dropping a career-high 37 points on 15-19 shooting. As soon as he got into the game, Deng hit a jumper on the right wing, a three pointer, and a layup for seven quick points. The Dukes had no idea how to stop the 6'9″ forward, though, luckily for them, he cooled off for the rest of the half.
Deng's scoring surge propelled the Pirates past James Madison and gave them a lead for the rest of the half. Hampton took their biggest lead of the half – 37-27 – following a three pointer from Ford Cooper.
James Madison soon reminded everyone why they ranked 20th in the nation. They ripped off a lightning-fast 8-0 run in under a minute, cutting the lead to just two points. The Pirates managed to hang on for the rest of the half, going into the break with a 42-41 lead.
At the start of the second half, James Madison took the lead for the first time since their 16-14 edge with 12:40 in the first half. They engineered another 8-2 run, forcing Hampton to call a timeout. The Pirates' leading scorer last year, Jordan Nesbitt, continually tried to find his shot in just his second game, but few baskets fell for him. He made his first field goal a tthe start of the half, but he was previously 0-8.
Coming out of the break, Jerry Deng seemed to find his groove again. He stopped the Dukes' run with an impressive fading three pointer. He even looked frustrated as he demanded the ball from his teammates.
Deng's brief interjection, however, failed to derail James Madison's groove. The Dukes continued to find easy baskets, eventually extending their lead to 71-56. Hampton struggled to keep pace offensively and kept giving up open shots to the Dukes. The Pirates went scoreless for about two minutes: in that time, the Dukes poured 10 points on their heads.
Throughout the rest of the game, James Madison proceeded to prove their top 25 ranking. It seemed like every shot they put up went in. They cruised for the rest of the game on their way to an 88-71 victory.
James Madison got contributions from both their starters and bench. Xavier Brown led the Dukes off the bench with 17 points, hitting three of his five three point attempts. Michael Green followed up with 16 points and 8 assists. Jaylen Carey and T.J. Bickerstaff tied with 12 points a piece, while Noah Freidel pulled down 8 rebounds to pair with his 13 points.
Jerry Deng had another amazing performance, though not quite as good as his 37-point outing. He led Hampton with 18 points, knocking down four of his five three point shots, as well as six rebounds. Kyrese Mullen had an impressive day too, recording a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Tedrick Wilcox and Ja'Von Benson were the other two double-digit scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
At 4-6, the Pirates seek a return to the win column as they match up against Bowling Green on Dec. 19.
