ELON, NC (WTKR)- For awhile, it looked as though Hampton would be run out of the gym on Monday night at Elon, but the Pirates responded only to come up just short.
Hampton put four players in double figures and only committed nine turnovers, but Deuce Dean's game-winning three point attempt was off the mark, as the Pirates fell to Elon, 70-68.
Edward Joyner saw his team trail by as many as 17 points early in the second half, but storm back. Kyrese Mullen's lay-up trimmed the Pirate deficit to six with 12:33 remaining. After hanging around, Marquis Godwin connected on a three-pointer with 8:38 to play to pull Hampton to within four at 59-55. The visitors would complete the comeback with 4:54 left in the game on Daniel Banister's fast break lay-up, giving the Pirates a 64-63 advantage.
Two free throws would swell the Hampton lead to three and the defense would keep the Phoenix at bay until 36 seconds left. That's when Max Mackinnon connected on at triple to put Elon back in front, 68-66.
Dean would tie the game on a lay-up with 11 ticks left on the clock, but would foul Mackinnon on the other end. After the Phoenix freshman sank both free throws, Dean's last season shot fell short.
Godwin and Jordan Nesbitt paced Hampton with 15 points each, followed by Dean's 12 points and Banister's 11 points. Mullen pulled down 10 rebounds .
The Pirates have lost four in a row and head to Hofstra on Thursday for a 7:00 PM tipoff.
