Hampton takes down Morgan State 91-71 in MEAC 1st round

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) Reginald Johnson and Deron Powers scored 18 points apiece and No. 6 seed Hampton beat 11th-seeded Morgan State on Monday in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.

The Pirates will play third-seeded Maryland Eastern Shore on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Hampton beat the Hawks 64-61 on Feb. 7 in their only meeting this season.

Brian Darden added 15 points for Hampton (13-17). Johnson, Powers and Darden made seven free throws apiece as the Pirates hit 26 of 36.

Hampton ended the first half on a 9-3 run for a 37-32 lead.

The Bears got within 57-53 after two Cedric Blossom free throws with 9:32 left. But Hampton answered with a 14-4 run, with seven points by Johnson, for a 71-57 advantage.

Morgan State (7-24), which reached the MEAC championship game last season, lost its sixth straight game.

Blake Bozeman had 19 points, Torin Childs-Harris added 18 and Blossom scored 14 with 12 rebounds for the Bears.