Box Score HAMPTON, Va. – South Carolina State's Tashombe Riley dunked a missed shot by teammate Greg Mortimer with 5.5 seconds left to play and the Bulldogs survived  to register a 68-66 conference win over Hampton Monday.

The win, which was nearly denied by a Kalin Fisher last-second layup attempt, gave Bulldog head coach Murray Garvin quite a 43rd birthday gift in the process.

In a game that was closely contested throughout, featuring 22 lead changes and 16 ties, the Bulldogs came from three points down in the final two minutes to grab the victory on the follow-up dunk by the junior forward from Orangeburg-Wilkinson.

Holding onto a 63-62 lead following a Mortimer layup with 45.7 seconds left, the Bulldogs watched Hampton's Jermaine put in back-to-back layups for a 66-63 Pirate lead with 1:31 on the clock.

Eric "E.J." Eaves made the first of two free throws to close the gap to 66-64 with 1:25 remaining, before Mortimer tied it for SC State at 66-all with a lay-in with 50 seconds showing. Marrow missed a 3-pointer and Akim Mitchell grabbed the rebound and was fouled by the Bulldogs' James "J.J." Richardson, sending Mitchell to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity with 29 seconds left.

Riley grabbed the rebound and SC State took a timeout with 21.1 seconds on the clock. Following the in-bounds pass, the ball went to Mortimer who drove the baseline and just missed a shot. Fortunately, Riley slammed it through for a 68-66 SC State lead with 5.5 seconds on the clock. Fisher drove the length of the court and got off a shot while closely guarded. He missed and no foul was called, giving the Bulldogs the hard-fought road win.

Garvin said he appreciated the team singing "Happy Birthday" to him earlier in the day, but he asked for a win against the Pirates as his gift, and the Bulldogs delivered.

"It's great to win a close one," said an elated Garvin following the win. "The game was hard fought by both teams and I'm so glad to come out on top, especially against the two-time defending champion and on their home court.

"I applaud my coaches and players. We were coming off a tough loss to Morgan State on Saturday and it's so pleasing to get a great win and rebound from that setback - one of the best birthday presents I've ever had."

The game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, Jan. 7, but was postponed due to inclement weather in the Hampton Roads area.

Eaves led the Bulldogs with 18 points, while Riley and Richardson added 12 points each in the win. SC State moved to 6-13 overall, 3-3 in the MEAC.
Damani Applewhite added 10 points and five rebounds. Eaves and Ian Kinard also had five boards for the Bulldogs.

Hampton - whose record dropped to an identical 6-13, 3-3 - was led by Fisher with 19 points and Marrow with 18.

Eaves and Richardson tallied 10 points each in the first half, as the Bulldogs battled the Pirates to a 36-36 deadlock at the break.SC. State made half of its 26 attempts from the field, including a 3-5 effort from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday when they play at Maryland-Eastern Shore in a MEAC doubleheader, beginning at 2 p.m.