Hampton Prevails in 70-65 Win against Northeastern
Dylan Smith
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | TICKETS | PHOTO GALLERY
HIGHLIGHTS | PRESS CONFERENCE – HAMPTON | PRESS CONFERENCE – NORTHEASTERN
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just hours after seeing the tournament’s first double-digit seed advance, graduate guard Noah Farrakhan utilized a 17-point second half to propel 10th-seeded Hampton to its first CAA Quarterfinal with a 70-65 victory over seventh-seeded Northeastern.
After becoming the sixth team to advance to the quarterfinals as the 10th seed, the Pirates (17-15) will face No. 2 seed UNCW (24-7) in a 6 p.m. showdown from CareFirst Arena. Northeastern moved to 17-15 following Saturday’s contest.
Farrakhan finished with 22 points on the evening, going 8-for-12 from the floor with a pair of made triples. Fellow guard George Beale Jr. also notched a 22-point effort with three triples and an 18-for-14 showing from the floor. The duo helped Hampton shoot 54.2 percent from the floor as a team in the second half, combining to go 10-of-15 across the final 20 minutes.
Northeastern’s Rashad King led all scorers with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a full 40 minutes of work. LA Pratt chipped in 14 points of his own, while Youri Fritz rounded out those in double figures with 10 points.
Hampton jumped out to a five-point lead, 13-8, after Farrakhan knocked down a pull-up jumper and Xzavier Long faded away for a bucket at the top of the key with 13:45 left in the first half.
Northeastern retaliated with a 10-3 run, capped off by Fritz banking his floater off the glass and in to secure a two-point lead, 18-16. The two programs continued to duel and exchanged 6-0 runs before a pair of free throws from Hampton’s Wayne Bristol Jr. knotted the game at 24 with 4:16 remaining.
Fritz rallied the Huskies into halftime with six of the team’s next 10 points, including a pair of successful putback attempts. Rashad King helped capture an eight-point lead, 37-29, at the break.
Farrakhan took control of the Pirates’ scoring to open the second half. The graduate guard tallied the squad’s first 10 points, hitting a pair of triples on the run to bring Hampton within two. George Beale Jr. tied the game with a right-handed finish and helped the Pirates earn a three-point lead, 47-44, with a trio of makes from the charity stripe at 13:33.
Momentum swung back in favor of the Huskies as King registered five unanswered points and Fritz tipped in LA Pratt’s ricochet off the glass to take a 51-47 edge.
Hampton inched its way back into the contest before Long’s acrobatic and-one finish and a breakaway steal-and-slam sent the Hampton fans into a frenzy, notching nine consecutive points to take a 61-55 lead at 5:25. Beale Jr. countered Pratt’s trey with a high-arching 3-pointer of his own as the shot clock sounded to go up six, 66-60, with 3:17 remaining in regulation.
The Huskies cut their deficit down to two with a pull-up jumper by JB Frankel. Northeastern forced a turnover after double-teaming Bristol Jr. in the corner, only for the graduate guard to make up for it with a game-saving swat on LA Pratt’s layup with 41 seconds left. The Pirates hit a pair of late free throws to hold on for a five-point win.