Hampton beats New Orleans 74-73
Maryland advances to the semi-finals

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Hampton junior forward Mike Freeman scored 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and the Pirates held off a strong New Orleans rally in taking a 74-73 win in the College Park Regional consolation game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic on Wednesday at the Comcast Center.

The Pirates (1-1) got 21 points and some crucial free throws from reserve guard Rashad West, and Hampton shot 56 percent from the field in the second half to seal the win.

UNO (0-2) got 52 combined points from juniors Bo McCalebb and Shaun Reynolds, while senior Jamie McNeilly added 10 points. Reserve post Asrangue Souleymane wrapped up a solid tournament with eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

The Privateers nearly pulled off one of their most dramatic comebacks in recent memory. Trailing 74-70 with four seconds to go, McNeilly drained a 3-pointer and was fouled by Hampton’s Vincent Simpson to give UNO a shot at the tie.

But McNeilly’s free throw rimmed out, and a desperation trey attempt by Jacob Manning also bounced off.

“Our game plan to slow down the tempo worked really well,” said UNO head coach Buzz Williams. “They quit pressing us in the last four minutes of the first half. But they made some adjustments, and it’s a possession-by-possession game. We had a chance at the end to win it, but we make no excuses. We just didn’t get it done.”

McCalebb finished with a game-high 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting, while Reynolds had 24 points (8-of-10) including 17 in the second half.

The Privateers trailed 54-47 win 10 minutes to play before going on an 11-0 run and taking a four-point lead with six minutes remaining.

But Hampton responded with an 8-0 run of its own to take a four-point edge. The Pirates led by six with a little more than three minutes left before UNO made a final push.

UNO will open up the home campaign at 7 p.m. on Saturday when the Privateers host Jacksonville State at the Human Performance Center.