HAMPTON, Va. -- Du'Vaughn Maxwell scored 16 points and blocked two shots as Hampton dominated Howard 63-47 Saturday night.

Brian Darden had 14 points for Hampton (12-11, 7-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Ke'Ron Brown had a career-high 11 rebounds.

The victory keeps Hampton a game-and-a-half behind second place Norfolk State (13-10, 7-2) in the conference standings. North Carolina Central (17-5, 8-1) leads the conference.

Hampton, after playing two consecutive overtime games, enjoyed being in control from the beginning in this one. The Pirates jumped out to a 36-15 halftime advantage as the defense stymied Howard in the first half, holding the Bison scoreless for over seven minutes.

Hampton was ahead 42-17 with 13:17 remaining in the game.

Howard only made 28.6 percent of its field goal attempts for the game. Hampton also won the rebound battle, pulling down 46 to Howard's 33.

James Daniel scored 21 points for Howard (6-18, 4-5).