By PAUL GOTHAM
DAYTON, OH — With 16 wins and 17 losses Hampton’s Pirates came into Tuesday’s First Four game with the only losing record in the NCAA Tournament field.
That fact served as motivation rather than a weight.
Quinton Chievous registered a double-double, and Reggie Johnson added 15 as the No.16-seed defeated the No. 16-seed Manhattan Jaspers, 74-64 at the University of Dayton Arena, Tuesday night.
“I’m pretty sure they’ve read everything just like I’ve read everything,” Hampton head coach Edward Joyner Jr. said. “Okay everybody said Manhattan was a better team and that’s fine but we had to be better. We were better for 40 minutes tonight.”
Johnson scored four as the Pirates raced to an early 7-0 lead and never trailed for their program’s first win in the NCAA Tournament in more than a decade.
“We knew Reggie would be able to make shots for us at some point,” Joyner said. “Reggie is our calming factor, if you understand what I mean. When he gets the ball the game calms down for us. That’s huge. You need that.”
Chievous netted 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Hampton took that seven-point lead into the locker room.
“At the end of the day we came together as a team,” Chievous said. “We prayed up and we stayed humble and we came out with the win.”
Manhattan came into the game fifth in the nation forcing more than 16 turnovers per game. Hampton committed 14 miscues which the Jaspers converted into 15 points, but the Pirates also converted against the press for layups and finished with a 20-2 advantage in fast break points.
“With teams that press us, I teach to attack the press,” Joyner noted. “I don’t like to hold it back. We’re going to attack it and we’re going to try to score. So, yes, that’s the way we wanted to play. We didn’t mind playing that way.”
Deron Powers matched a season-high with seven assists.
“We wanted to be quick but not in a hurry,” Joyner continued. “I thought we did that, and I thought Deron Powers handled it well and picked them apart in certain situations. Even though he may not have gotten the assist, he was part of the reason we were able to break the defense down.”
Johnson gave the Pirates a five-point at 42-37 at the back end of the press. On the next possession, the junior guard led Jervon Pressley for a dunk. Hampton led 44-39.
“We didn’t really play typical Manhattan basketball, I thought,” Jaspers head coach Steve Masiello commented. “But give Hampton the credit for that.”
After falling behind by as many as a dozen in the first half, Manhatan netted five straight to pull within one. Shane Richards nailed a catch-and-shoot three. Ashton Pankey followed his own miss with a putback, and Manhattan trailed 46-45 with 13:51 remaining.
The Jaspers went more than three minutes in the closing moments without a field goal.
“I think we might have pressed a little too much,” Masiello said. “Not defensively, ourselves. I think we might have wanted it a little too much and instead of just relaxing. I think guys wanted to deliver.”
Manhattan finished the game 23 of 62 (37.1 percent) from the floor including 6 of 25 (24 percent) behind the arc.
“But that’s what this tournament does to you,” Masiello added. “And this tournament, I’ve seen it do it to a lot of very good teams that I’ve been a part of where it can change your identity, not intentionally. No one has malice doing it. It’s probably the biggest stage in collegiate sports, if not all of sports. And this tournament can do things to you. You think though when you’re there before, you should be ready for it. And we weren’t tonight.”
Pankey and Andujar played six and eight minutes respectively in the first half because of foul trouble.
Richards started one of six from the floor and finished with a team-high 17 for Manahttan.
Brian Darden added 13 for Hampton.
Hampton is the 23rd team to enter the NCAA Tournament with a losing record. The Pirates became the seventh team all-time to advance with a losing record.
Hampton is now 13-4 this season when leading at half.
Hampton is now 2-3 all time in the NCAA Tournament. The Pirates other win happened in 2001 when the Pirates upset No. 2-seed Iowa State, 58-57.
The 16-seed Pirates will play No. 1 overall seed Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday. A 9:40
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