HAMPTON, Va. – Despite a combined 37 points from Kalin Fisher and Jermaine Marrow, the Hampton University men's basketball team fell to South Carolina State Wednesday evening at the HU Convocation Center, as the Bulldogs edged out a 68-66 win.
 
The Pirates fell to 6-13 overall and 3-3 in MEAC play.
 
Fisher went 8-for-22 from the floor in scoring a career- and team-high 19 points, while also dishing out a team-high three assists. Marrow added 18 points on 6-for-13 shooting and a 6-for-8 effort from the free throw line.
 
Trevond Barnes added nine points, a career- and team-high 10 rebounds, and a career-high five blocks.
 
The Pirates shot 44.1 percent (26-for-59) from the floor for the game, but went just 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from the 3-point line. Hampton was also 12-for-19 (63.2 percent) from the free throw line, and the Pirates held a slim 36-35 rebounding edge.
 
Marrow's layup with 15:06 left in the first half gave the Pirates a 10-7 lead, before the Bulldogs responded with a 13-2 run to take a 20-12 lead at the 10:49 mark after a layup from Ian Kinard. Hampton then went on an 11-2 run, going up 23-22 after a pair of Fisher free throws.
 
There were nine lead changes and four ties in the first half. Tashombe Riley gave the Bulldogs a 32-29 lead with 2:22 left in the half, before the Pirates closed the frame with a 7-4 spurt that had the game tied at 36-36 when the teams went to the locker room.
 
Marrow led the Pirates with 10 points at the half.
 
The second half was as tight as the first, and neither team held a lead larger than three points in the second stanza. In fact, the second half alone accounted for 13 lead changes and 12 ties; Eric Eaves gave S.C. State a 63-62 lead with 2:14 remaining, before Marrow sank a layup to give the lead back to the Pirates.
 
A fastbreak layup from Marrow then put the Pirates up 66-63 with 1:31 left to play, before an Eaves free throw and a Greg Mortimer layup with less than a minute to go in regulation tied the game at 66-66.
 
Riley slammed home a putback with six seconds to go to give the Bulldogs the lead and the win. The Pirates missed their last two field goal attempts.
 
The Bulldogs (6-13, 3-3 MEAC) shot 41.8 percent (23-for-55) from the floor – going 50 percent in the first half before struggling to the tune of 34.5 percent in the second half. S.C. State went 4-for-11 (36.4 percent) from distance and 18-for-25 (72.0 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Eaves led four Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points.
 
The Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they welcome Coppin State to the HU Convocation Center for a 5 p.m. tip. 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.