The first and only (so far) time Ferrum College Panthers Phoenix senior guard Marshall Hamilton and Elon University sophomore guard Austin Hamilton faced off against each other in a team environment was at a basketball camp when the former was ten years old and the latter was eight.

Marshall’s team won, and Austin cried.

“His team beat my team in the championship,” Austin said. “I remember crying and being so mad. This is like payback.”

“This” is today’s exhibition game, where Austin’s Elon team faces Marshall’s Ferrum squad in a warm-up for the regular season at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.

“Me and him had been trying to get it together since the end of our last season,” Marshall said. “Elon played some D-III schools for exhibitions that we played against.”

"We talked about it last summer," Austin added. "My brother was like, ‘Yeah man, this is my last year. What do you think about playing each other?’ I was like, ‘Wow, that would be special.’

Austin said he went to the coaches and asked if they could do it. All he had to do was ask.

“They put it together and here we are now,” he said.

Since they were young

Austin and Marshall played together for a long time, beginning when Marshall was nine and Austin was seven on a rec team.

“We ended up winning the championship of that league together,” Marshall said. “It was great because it was our first time playing organized ball together.”

As the two grew up, they eventually made it to Herndon High School’s varsity team in their hometown of Herndon, Va.

In Marshall’s senior year, they experienced what both claim as their favorite memory of their basketball career.

The Herndon Hornets were facing rival Westfield High School on Herndon’s senior night. Marshall called it a “crucial game.”

The Hornets were holding a lead when Marshall hit a big three-pointer. Westfield brought the ball down the court and Austin stole the ball. He passed it to Marshall, who dished it back to Austin. Austin drained another three-pointer and the Hornets were on the way to a big senior night victory.

“It was special because it was brother-to-brother, hitting back-to-back threes,” Austin said.

Staying close in college

Even though the two are two years apart and going to college in separate states, the Hamilton brothers said they stay close.

“We’re real close,” Austin said. “He’s part of the reason why I’ve had the success I’ve had. He’s been a big impact on my game and my overall personality.”

“We still text each other,” Marshall adds. “We played in high school together and that kind of brought us closer together. We tweet and text each other. I watch his games on live-stream.”

Marshall got to see his brother get a spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter’s Top 10 last season after Austin’s first college start. The younger Hamilton’s jumper early in the second half of Elon’s 58-53 Nov. 15, 2011, victory over the University of South Carolina was seen around the country and caused Marshall’s phone to blow up.

“I woke up the next morning, the night after that game, and had ten text messages like, ‘Your brother’s on ESPN,’” Marshall said. “I actually didn’t see the actual play, but they TiVoed it and I watched it. People who didn’t even know my brother were telling me about it.”

Marshall said Austin has been a player that knows how to pick his moments.

[box]Austin Hamilton Player Profile School: Elon University Position: Guard Height: 5-10 Weight: 180 Class: Sophomore Points Per Game: 9.2 ppg in 25 career games[/box]

“He’s always been the type of player that’s unselfish, but knew when to be aggressive and when to score,” he said. “He’s always been the type of player that knew when to show up in right moments. He knows what he needs to do when he does.

Austin said his brother is a “feisty” but disciplined player.

“He’s a very good defender, he’s aggressive on D,” he said. “He’s a good penetrator. He likes to get in and dish off. He’s overall a pretty good player. I’ve taken some stuff from him and we’ve helped each other get better. Overall, I’d say he’s pretty feisty but he can control himself.”

Getting down to business

When the Division III Panthers step on the floor tonight against the Phoenix, the brothers are still brothers, but they’re opponents, and neither one of them has lost sight of that.

“They’re lower-level, but we don’t take them lightly,” Austin said. “We’re going to go out there and play how we play and go at it. A win, that’s all I want. No matter the score, I want to win.”

[box]Marshall Hamilton Player Profile School: Ferrum College Position: Guard Height: 5-9 Weight: 155 Class: Senior Points per Game: 2.5 ppg in 64 career games[/box] Marshall said he sees it as just part of the season ahead, part of his final shot at college basketball.

“It’s not just about me and him, it’s about Ferrum and Elon,” he said. “It’s cool that we’re going to play each other, but I’m going to approach it as a normal game. I’m playing against my brother, but I’m looking forward to playing in a normal game again. It’s exciting to play against my brother in a D-I stage.”

No matter the outcome, once the lights are off and the final whistle has blown, one thing must happen.

“My mom likes to take a lot of pictures,” Austin said. “So I’m sure after the game, before he gets on the bus, we’ll take a lot of pictures. It’s going to be special, a lot of family coming.”

And in that moment, they'll be what they are at the end of the day. When college basketball careers are finished, jerseys are hung up and lives move forward, Austin and Marshall Hamilton will be what they always have been to each other.

Brothers.