HAMPTON, Va. – A 19-2 run over a nearly seven-minute span in the second half helped propel Hampton to a 94-82 win over Charleston Southern in the Big South Conference opener for the Pirates on Thursday night.

Hampton (6-8, 1-0) held a 73-72 lead with 7:58 left after a Philandrous Fleming layup with 7:58 left.  Charleston Southern (6-9, 0-2) went 1-for-6 with six turnovers as Hampton went on the 19-2 run as a Trevond Barnes jumper with 1:10 left put Hampton up 92-74.  Barnes had seven in the run and Jermaine Marrow added eight to help get the Pirates over the hump in their first ever Big South contest.

The Pirates opened the game blistering on a 17-2 spurt as a Greg Heckstall free throw put them up 17-7 at the 16-minute mark.  Charleston Southern slowly worked their way back into the contest and regained the lead at 26-25 on a 3-pointer from Smith with 8:18 left. 

Following a brief lead exchange, the Bucs used a 14-3 run to take a 48-36 lead with 55 seconds left on a Christian Keeling jumper.  They held the 12-pont lead with 17:19 on a Christian Keeling layup to lead 56-44.  Hampton went on a spurt to trim to 60-57 on a Marrow layup with 14:33 left.  The Pirates evened the game at 70 on a 3-pointer by Marrow with 9:02 left.  Barnes hit a 3-ball to put Hampton up 73-70 with 8:22 left but the Bucs got it back to 73-72 with the Fleming layup with 7:58 left.

Marrow was the leading scorer on the night with 35 points and six assists for Hampton as he paced four in double figures.  Barnes had a career best 21 points and four blocks, while Kalin Fisher had a stat-sheet stuffing night of 16 points, six rebounds, six steals and seven assists.  Ben Stanley came off the bench with 10 points and seven boards.

Hampton hit 65.6% from the floor in the second half going 21-of-32 and ended with the second-highest field goal percentage in a game this year hitting 35-of-63 (55.6%).  They were 13-of-25 from 3-point land (52%) and 11-of-19 from the foul line (57.9%).

The Pirates were outrebounded 44-33, including 16-4 on the offensive boards as Fleming topped Charleston Southern with 23 points and 12 boards.

Hampton is back on the floor on Saturday hosting UNC Asheville in a 4pm 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.
 
POST-GAME NOTES

• Fisher became the 30^th Pirate to score 1,000 points in a career as he now has 1,003.  He broke the mark on the first of two free throws with 1:58 left which put Hampton up 89-74.
• The 35 points is the fourth time this season that Marrow has broken the 30-point barrier.
• The 55.6% from the floor Hampton shot tonight was their highest against a NCAA Division I opponent this year.  Hampton hit 60% in a win over Regent University in December.
• The 13 3-pointers tied the second most in a game this year equaling the mark against Bowling Green in late November.  Hampton had 14 in the win over Regent in December.