EDINBURGH, Tx. – Homestanding Texas Rio Grande Valley outscored Hampton 51-35 in the second half and defeated the Pirates 80-69 on Saturday night.

Hampton (5-10) held a 44-33 lead with 16:42 left in the game on a pair of free throws from Trevond Barnes.  A pair of Barnes free throws with 9:49 left kept Hampton up 59-50, but UTRGV went on a 14-2 run to lead 64-61 on a Terry Winn layup with 3:53 remaining.

Jermaine Marrow drained a triple for Hampton to bring the Pirates to 68-66 with 2:38 remaining which was as close as the Pirates got.  The Vaqueros closed the game on a 12-3 flurry to ice the game with four free throws in the final minute to win.

Marrow topped Hampton with 22 points and six rebounds, while Barnes had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Kalin Fisher added 10 points.  Hampton was 25-of-64 from the floor (39.1%), 1-of-12 from 3-point land (8.3%) and 18-of-21 from the foul line (85.7%). 

Nick Dixon topped UTRGV with 21 points, while Winn added 12.

Hampton now enters Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action on January 6 visiting Maryland Eastern Shore for a 4pm tip in Princess Anne, Md.

For more information on Hampton University men's basketball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.