WASHINGTON, DC (WTKR)- Hampton and William & Mary entered the CAA Tournament with low expectations from outside the locker room. After the first day of the event, both find themselves still alive.
Kyrese Mullen scored the game-winning lay-up with 6.3 seconds left to power the Pirates past Elon, 56-55, Friday in Washington, DC, while the Tribe took control and topped North Carolina A&T, 79-62.
Hampton is seeded No. 14 in the tournament as the last place team in the CAA regular season, but has been playing better basketball down the stretch. The Pirates led by as many as 14 points in the first half and held a 10 point advantage in the second half before a 9-0 run by the Phoenix got them right back in it.
Sam Sherry's lay-up with 4:16 to play gave Elon its first lead of the game at 52-51, setting up a thrilling stretch run. Jerry Deng gave Hampton the advantage back with a three-pointer with 2:55 remaining, but TK Simpkins answered with a triple of his own, putting the Phoenix back in front by a count of 55-54.
That would be the score with seven ticks left on the clock and the Pirates inbounding the ball under the Elon basket. The pass went to Mullens who tallied the eventual game-winning deuce. The Phoenix's Isaac Harrell got a three point attempt off at the buzzer, but it did not fall.
Deng led the way for Hampton with 16 points, while JaVon Benson chipped in 11 points.
The victory marks the program's first CAA Tournament win in history as the Pirates have now won four of their last six games.
The No. 13 seed Tribe tipped off the tournament in the first contest of the day and battled the Aggies in a close game for the first half. William & Mary was able to open up a 35-30 lead at halftime.
The second half saw the green and gold have an answer for North Carolina A&T's surges. Landon Glasper's free throw cut the Tribe lead to three mid-way through the frame, but Dane Fischer's squad followed that up with an 8-0 run to go back up by double digits. The Aggies would pull back to within seven, but an 11-1 Tribe run slammed the door.
A trio of William & Mary standouts led the way. Chase Lowe scored 18 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, while Gabe Dorsey and Trey Moss each added 18 points as well. Matteus Case scored 11 points for the Tribe off the bench.
William & Mary only committed four turnovers during the contest.
The Tribe will face Towson in second round action Saturday at 2:30 PM, while Hampton will take on Delaware at 8:30 PM.
