WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In true "Battle of the Real HU" fashion, a contest that saw 13 lead changes saw Hampton go on a 16-6 run over a five-minute span to get a hold of the contest and defeat Howard 89-82 at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the DC Holiday Hoops Fest on Saturday.

The win for Hampton (5-7) was the 16^th in a row over Howard and the 21^st in the last 22 games against the Bison.   Hampton University coach Buck Joyner has not lost to Howard in his tenure.

After a slow start for both teams, the last the last nine minutes saw the teams trade the lead seven times.   A Ben Stanley three-point play put Hampton up 29-27 with 4:26 left in the first half, but the Bison tied it back on a dunk by Charles Williams nine seconds later. Howard then closed the half on a 10-3 run to lead 39-32 on a Kyle Foster 3-ball with 33 seconds left.

Howard stretched its lead to nine early in the second half on a dunk by Raymond Bethea, Jr. with 18:41 left to lead 43-34.  Hampton roared back into the game on the heels of a 9-0 run as a Jermaine Marrow layup evened the game at 43-all with 16:19 left.

The teams traded brief leads before a layup from Akim Mitchell gave Hampton a 55-54 lead with 12:29 left.  That jumpstarted the 16-6 run to give Hampton a 69-60 lead on a 3-ball from Greg Heckstall with 7:35 remaining.

Howard cut the lead to four twice, last on a RJ Cole jumper with 99 seconds left at 81-77, but Hampton went 4-of-5 from the line and got a three-point play off a layup by Mitchell for its largest lead at 87-77 with 40 seconds left.

Marrow topped Hampton with 31 points, seven assists and five boards.  Mitchell scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and added a team-high 10 boards.  Heckstall just missed a double-double with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

As a team Hampton blistered the nets in the second half hitting 19-of-30 (63.3%) to finish the game at 32-of-63 (50.8%).  They outrebounded Howard 41-33 and was 17-of-21 from the foul line (81%).

Hampton now faces St. Peter's on Dec. 29 in New Jersey in a 1pm start.

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.

POSTGAME NOTES

• With his 31 points, Marrow moves into 12^th place on the All-Time Scoring List with 1,452 as he passed Kenneth Brown (1,438 points/1989-92).
• Hampton has won 16 straight against Howard and 21 of its last 22 games.  The last loss by Hampton in Washington, DC to Howard came in the 2001-02 season falling 82-81.
• The only losses since then came in two neutral site matchups in the 2006-07 and 2009-10 campaigns.
• The 18 points and 10 rebounds were season-highs for Mitchell
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