HAMPTON, Va. (HamptonPirates.com) - Despite a cold spell that matched the nasty weather outside, Hampton used a 33-point outing from Jermaine Marrow to pace four in double figures as Hampton defeated Gardner-Webb 87-77 on Thursday night.
In a first half that saw nine ties, Hampton (12-15, 7-7) took the lead on a jumper by Greg Heckstall jumper with 35 seconds left for a 41-39 advantage.
The Pirates opened the second half on an 11-2 run as Jermaine Marrow hit a jumper to lead 52-41. Hampton pushed the lead to as much as 67-54 on a 3-pointer by Marrow with 12:32 left.
From that point, the Pirates matched the weather outside as Gardner-Webb (11-15, 7-7) went on a 14-2 run as two Nate Johnson free throws brought the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a point at 69-68 with 6:18 left.
A pair of Ben Stanley free throws slowed the drought to put Hampton up 71-68 with 5:23 remaining. Those free throws started a 13-3 run for Hampton as Marrow hit a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left to lead 82-71.
Marrow was 8-of-10 from the line in the last 65 seconds to finish with 33 points and push his career total to 2,497. He is 59 points from tying the Virginia Division I state scoring record of Reggie Williams with 2,556.
Ben Stanley had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Davion Warren added 15 and seven boards. Heckstall had 10 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. The Pirates outrebounded Gardner-Webb 46-31.
Eric Jamison, Jr. had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Runnin’ Bulldogs and Johnson had 20.
These teams will finish a January 20 contest on Monday night at Gardner-Webb as the shotclocks malfunctioned at halftime of that game.
