DOVER, Del. – The Hampton University men's basketball team needed an extra five minutes on Saturday afternoon, but the Pirates remained unbeaten in conference play with an 85-77 win over Delaware State at Memorial Hall.
 
The Pirates, winners of four straight, are 6-10 overall and 3-0 in MEAC play.
 
Jermain Marrow notched yet another 20-point game, leading the Pirates with 23 points – while also dishing out a career-best six assists and grabbing six rebounds. Lysander Bracey added a career-high 19 points and four assists, while Lawrence Cooks chipped in 18 points and four assists.
 
Charles Wilson-Fisher added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench.
 
The Pirates shot 51.9 percent (28-for-54) from the floor and hit 10 of their 17 3-pointers (58.8 percent) and went 19-for-21 (90.5 percent) from the free throw line. Hampton also outrebounded the Hornets 37-25.
 
In the overtime period, Hampton made four of its six field goals and went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line.
 
Wilson-Fisher broke the stalemate in the opening seconds of overtime, then – after the Hornets tied the game with a pair of free throws – Bracey gave the Pirates a 69-66 lead with a three. Devin Morgan answered with a three of his own – and his three with 1:47 left tied the game again at 74-all.
 
But Bracey answered with a trey of his own with 1:09 left, giving the Pirates the lead for good.
 
Hampton made eight free throws in the game's final 46 seconds. Cooks had nine points in OT.
 
The Pirates led by as many as nine in the second half – taking a 41-32 lead with 18:24 left in regulation after Akim Mitchell completed a 3-point play to wrap up a 7-0 run to open the half. But the Hornets battled back, going on a 26-7 run over the next 11 minutes to take a 58-48 lead after a Kobe Gantz layup.
 
Wilson-Fisher ended the run with a layup, kicking off a stretch in which the Pirates scored eight straight points to take a 64-58 lead with 1:35 remaining after Cooks hit two free throws.
 
But Delaware State got 3-pointers from Morgan and Artem Tavakalyn to send the game to overtime.
 
Both teams went back and forth in the first half, with three lead changes and two ties in the opening 20 minutes. The Hornets had a five-point lead, 32-27, in the closing minutes of the half, but the Pirates ended the frame on a 7-0 run to go into the break with a 34-32 lead.
 
Marrow, who has scored in double figures in 15 of 16 games this season, had 17 points at the half.
 
The Hornets (5-13, 2-1 MEAC) shot 44.1 percent (26-for-59) from the floor, despite only hitting nine field goals in the second half. Delaware State only made eight of their 23 3-pointers (34.8 percent).
 
Morgan led the Hornets with 18 points.
 
The Pirates will return to the HU Convocation Center on Monday to take on North Carolina Central at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5757, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.