WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senior Davion Warren scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half as Hampton withstood a second-half run from host George Washington to secure an 82-78 season-opening win on Tuesday night at the Smith Center.
The Colonials jumped out to a 13-7 lead with just under 13 minutes left in the half on a jumper by Matthew Moyer. Hampton responded with an 11-1 run as a 3-pointer from Saheem Anthony gave the guests an 18-14 lead at the 9:39 mark.
A Jameer Nelson, Jr. jumper allowed the hosts to regain the lead at 24-22 with 7:27 left, but the Pirates answered with a 15-4 burst as Chris Shelton hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Pirates up 37-28 with 100 seconds left in the half.
Hampton took a 39-34 lead into halftime, but the hosts continued its run and took its largest lead of the night at 61-54 on a Chase Paar jumper with 10:18 left. The Pirates scored the next seven points as a pair of Warren jumpers in the paint evened the score at 61 with 8:43 on the clock.
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GWU scored the next five points to lead 66-61 on a Nelson layup at the 7:14 mark. A Warren 3-ball evened the game at 68 with 5:44 left and Chris Shelton drained another triple with 4:57 left to put the Pirates ahead to stay at 71-68.
The hosts tied it on a Jamison Battle dunk at 74-all with 3:31 remaining. A putback by Edward Oliver-Hampton and a layup by Warren locked up the victory to lead 78-74 with 41 seconds left. Daniel Bannister hit a layup and a pair of Warren free throws for the final margin.
Warren matched his career-high with 20 points and added 10 rebounds along with a career-high six assists, while Shelton had a career-high 19 with five 3-pointers. Oliver-Hampton added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Anthony had a career-high 14 points.
Hampton is now off until December 7 when they travel to Norfolk State for the Battle of the Bay at 7 pm.
Courtesy: Hampton Athletics
