Box Score ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State's Ed Stephens broke out of a year-long shooting slump with 18 points and went over the 1,000-point mark for his career, but that was about the only positive for the Bulldogs who lost 93-64 to a hot-shooting Hampton team Monday night.

Stephens, a junior, came into the game needing three points to reach the 1,000-point plateau, and he reached it with his first basket of the game – a 3-pointer with 6:57 on the first period scoreboard. The Columbia native connected on 5-10 attempts from the field, including 4-5 from behind the arc.

"I'm happy for Ed and am glad that he was able to get open and make some shots," said the Bulldogs' Murray Garvin. "But I hate it was in a losing effort for our team.
"I was very disappointed in our overall play. We are much better than we showed tonight, so it's gut-check time ASAP. It starts with me and we will be working extremely hard to right the ship."

"I give Hampton credit. They shot the ball extremely well, but we didn't do enough to defend. We have a critical three-game road trip coming up and we will see how we bounce back."

Eric Eaves was the only other Bulldog in double figures, finishing with 11 points in the loss, which dropped the Bulldogs to 7-16 and 4-6 in the MEAC. Greg Mortimer led the Bulldogs on the boards with six rebounds to go with eight points

Hampton, who had four players in double figures, led by Jermaine Marrow's 21 points, improved to 10-13 and 7-3 in the league. The Pirate victory avenged a 68-66 home loss to SC State Jan. 25. Following Marrow in the scoring column for Hampton were Lawrence Cooks with 12, Akim Mitchell with 11 and Kalin Fisher with 10.

The visitors connected on 54.9 percent of their shots from the field in the contest, including a 7-20 performance from long-range. SC State, conversely, made just 34.5 percent of its chances from the field and was just 5-13 from behind the arc.

The Pirates, who led 49-27 at the half, after hitting 22-38 shots for a 57.9 percent accuracy in the first half, continued their hot-hand in the final 20 minutes, maintaining a 20-point plus lead throughout the final 20 minutes and took their biggest lead of 30 points, 91-61, with 2:45 to play.

The visitors also enjoyed a 44-30 rebounding edge in the contest.

The Bulldogs return to the court Saturday against North Carolina Central in the second game of an MEAC doubleheader, beginning with the women's game at 2 p.m. in Durham, NC.
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