NORFOLK, Va. – In a rivalry game, nothing is safe and Thursday night proved that.   Hampton closed the game on an 8-0 run over the final 3:37, with six of those coming from senior Malique Trent-Street, to propel the Pirates to a 74-71 win over Norfolk State Thursday night in the Battle of the Bay.

With the win, Hampton gained a share of first-place in the regular season with Bethune-Cookman and Savannah State.  The Pirates hold the tie-breaker over those two as they went a combined 2-1 against them to give Hampton the top-seed in next week's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament

Hampton trailed 71-66 at the 3:37 mark, but a jumper by Jermaine Marrow off a feed from Trent-Street got the Pirates to 71-68 with 2:36.   Two Trent-Street free throws brought them to within a point 30 seconds later.  After a missed free throw, Trent-Street stole the ball at midcourt and went in for a dunk with 74 seconds left that put Hampton up 72-71.

He then stole an inbounds pass with 18 seconds left and drained another pair of free throws for the final margin.  

Hampton had only committed three fouls in the second half, so they fouled their way to trim the clock down to six seconds.  A missed 3-pointer was hauled in by Trent-Street to ice the win.

Kalin Fisher topped Hampton with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Trent-Street had 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.  Trevond Barnes also added 10 for Hampton (17-14, 12-4 MEAC).

Hampton will face the winner of #8 seed Howard and #9 Florida A&M on Wednesday, March 7 at 6 pm in the Norfolk Scope.

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.