Texas Southern, Kehlin Farooq Down Hampton in Chris Paul HBCU Challenge Finale
Texas Southern Tigers were down two starters in the final stretch but went on to defeat the Hampton Pirates 82-77 in the Chris Paul HBCU Challenge finale.
Mar 16, 2022; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Texas Southern Tigers guard Kehlin Farooq (20) shoots during practice before the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports
Kehlin Farooq, the redshirt sophomore who transferred from Hampton, led all scorers with 19 points and eight rebounds against his former team. Joirdon Karl Nicholas added 17 points and five rebounds, and John Walker III and Davon Barnes scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Hampton had four players reach double figures, led by Jordan Nesbitt's 18 points and seven rebounds. Russell Dean and Daniel Banister scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, and Najee Thomas had a game-high ten rebounds to go with seven points.
Both teams had a solid offensive first half. For Texas Southern, a lot of the offense came from the interior, outscoring Hampton 24-10 in the paint. Most of the scoring came from Nicholas and Walker, who combined for 20 of the Tiger's 37 points. Texas Southern also won the early turnover battle 5-1.
For Hampton, the first-half scoring came from the perimeter, shooting 5-for-11 from 3-point range. Marquis Godwin, who finished the game with 13 points, was responsible for two of those, pacing the Pirates with 10 points. Banister made the other three 3-pointers and ended the first half with nine points.
The score was tied at 37 going into halftime.
The second half opened with a pair of runs, with Hampton scoring five in a row to take a five-point lead, then Texas Southern went on a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead. Neither team managed to create much separation as both offenses went cold the first 10 minutes after halftime (teams combined for 27%), but Texas Southern went on another 7-0 run, including the first 3-pointer of the half for either team from the Farooq.
It looked promising for the Tigers to gain control, but Nicholas, trying to get a steal on a fastbreak, was called for his fifth foul.
Not even a minute later, Walker got called for his fifth foul on a 3-point play by Hampton's Raymond Bethea Jr., meaning head coach Johnny Jones had to manage without two of his starters with about seven minutes left in the game.
Farooq, however, took over down the stretch, scoring 17 of his game-high 19 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-3 from downtown. From then on, the Tigers would hold the lead for the final 3:49.
The teams were evenly matched, but the two places Texas Southern had the advantage were turnovers and points in the paint. The Tigers scored 15 points off of Hampton's 13 turnovers (The Tigers only had five), and Texas Southern nearly doubled the Pirates' points inside, outscoring them 48-26.
With the win, Texas Southern moves to 3-8. The Tigers have one more game before Christmas, a road game against the Wichita State Shockers on Thursday at 7 PM CT.
The loss puts Hampton at 3-9 on the season and 0-4 in the Chris Paul HBCU Challenge. The Pirates' next game will end 2022 with two games in three days, first against the College of Charleston on Dec. 29 and the against UNC-Wilmington on New Year's Eve. Hampton will open in 2023 at home against Hofstra.
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