DURHAM, NC -- Behind a 25 point, nine rebound and eight assist performance from Jermaine Marrow the Hampton Pirates knocked off defending Mid Eastern Athletic Conference champion N.C. Central 86-70 on Monday night.

Hampton held the lead throughout the game scoring the first eight points as a Marrow jumper with 18:02 left in the half to lead 8-0. The lead grew to 22-9 on a Marrow floater at the 12:25 mark.

The Eagles cut the deficit in half trailing 31-24 on a Larry McKnight Jr, jumper with a 4:40 left.  Hampton pushed the lead back to 46-31 on a Kalin Fisher triple with 10 seconds left.

In the second half, NCCU made its run cutting a 13-point halftime to 58-56 on a tip-in by McKnight with 11:08 left.  Three-pointers by Akim Mitchell and Lysander Bracey over a 77 second span helped start a 28-14 run to end the game.

Fisher joined Marrow with 16 points, while Mitchell and Bracey scored 11 each.  Hampton was 31-of-60 from the floor (51.7%) and held the host to 24-of-62 (38.7%) field goal shooting.

Hampton (10-14/5-4 MEAC) now heads to Howard for a 7:30 pm tip on Thursday in Washington, DC.

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.