HAMPTON, Va. – It took 30 points from the nation's No. 5 leading scorer, but Big South rival Hampton survived a road upset bid from Longwood and edged the Lancers 83-80 Saturday evening at the Hampton Convocation Center.
 
Marrow, who entered the game averaging a Big South-best 23.2 points per game, delivered his third 30-point outburst of the season to send the Pirates (7-9, 2-1 Big South) to their fourth consecutive home win. Marrow's fellow senior Greg Heckstall also came up big down the stretch by hitting back-to-back three-pointers in the final 2:30 to shutter Longwood's (6-11, 1-3 Big South) comeback bid and secure a win for Hampton in the latest chapter of a blossoming in-state Big South rivalry.
 
"Huge, huge credit to those guys to battle back," said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich. "I'm really proud of them for getting back into the game at halftime. There was a real commitment on the offensive and defensive ends, and honestly it was only about five or six minutes, then they found themselves right back in the game.
 
"Marrow hit a tough one at the end of the half to put them up three, but it was basically an even game. We erased the stench of the first 12-14 minutes of the game."
 
Buoyed by Marrow's 30 points and nine assists and the two crunch-time three-pointers from Heckstall, the Pirates broke open a 66-66 deadlock with five minutes to play and ended the game on a 17-14 run. Ben Staley hit the go-ahead jumper, and Heckstall shuttered Longwood's comeback with back-to-back treys after Lancer forward JaShaun Smith cut the lead back to one point with a made three-pointer at the 3:27 mark.
 
The loss marks only the second time this season the Lancers have allowed an opponent to surpass 80 points in regulation. Hampton shot .483 (28-of-58) from the floor to overcome a 19-point effort from Longwood senior Shabooty Phillips and an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double from junior Jordan Cintron.
 
"The game is a game of runs," Aldrich said. "Lesser teams would have just called it a night, but to their credit, they battled back. I'm proud of them for that. That's what I think we saw in the Charleston Southern game and in the second half against Upstate."
 
Phillips spearheaded a Longwood attack that bounced back from a sluggish start to close the first half on a 15-4 run and entered halftime trailing just 35-32. That momentum carried into the second half when Phillips found Christian Wilson for a go-ahead layup with 13:09 to play, but Hampton responded with five consecutive layups to regain control.
 
An 11-3 Longwood run ending with a Juan Munoz three-pointer tied the game again at 63-63, but Marrow and JaShaun Smith traded three-pointers on the next two possessions. Stanley put Hampton ahead for good with his jumper in response to Smith's triple, and the Pirates scored on nine of their final 14 possessions to seal the victory.
 
"We talk about focus and effort. It's on our wall in the locker room. We talk about being insanely focused on the details, and that's what it is. It's a commitment on each possession to doing what we do. You saw Heru Bligen did it exactly the right way, and I think he got two or three steals in the second half.
 
"When we're able to be consistent, we're going to be a really good team. If we can't keep that consistency, we're going to keep on experiencing these fluctuations.
 
The game featured a combined nine double-digit scorers, with fellow Pirates Stanley (16 points), Davion Warren (16) and Heckstall (13) joining Marrow on that list.
 
Along with Phillips' 19, Munoz finished with 17 for Longwood alongside Cintron's 11, Heru Bligen's career-high 11 and Smith's 10. The performance was Longwood's second straight game with at least four double-digit scorers.
 
"If we stay committed to our principles, then we're going to be in good shape," Aldrich said, looking to the remaining games in Big South play. "I will say, and I did tell them this, I'm excited about this team because we're on an upward trajectory right now. This is a group that we're now seeing more and more stretches of good basketball. There's more and more an understanding of what we're doing. My guess is right now if you pulled the players aside and asked what we did wrong, they would know.
 
"When that happens, you have a chance because they know what we did wrong and I do believe they're committed to fixing it. That gives us a lot of positive momentum.
 
After playing their past two Big South matchups on the road, Longwood will return to Willett Hall this week to prepare for a Thursday home game against Presbyterian at 7 p.m.
 
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