HAMPTON, Va. (Jan. 27, 2024) … Elon (9-12, 2-6) snapped a five-game losing streak and extended Hampton's (4-17, 0-9) losing skein to 12 with an 80-74 victory over the Pirates in a game that went down to the final seconds.

Trailing 76-69, a three-pointer by Tedrick Wilcox Jr. and a lay-up by Jerry Deng made the score 76-74 with 21.3 seconds left. But Elon's TK Simpkins made two free throws and Max Mckinnon made two more to put the game out of reach.

Wilcox tallied 16 points for the Pirates and Kyrese Mullen (15), Jordan Nesbitt (14), and Deng (13) also scored in double-figures. Sam Sherry led the Phoenix with 16 points with Simpkins (15), and Mckinnon (14) also scoring double-digits.

Elon shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the field in the decisive second half while limiting Hampton to 30.3 percent shooting (10-of-33). Hampton outrebounded the Phoenix, 41-30, but Elon scored 19 points off 12 Hampton turnovers.

Hampton's Tristan Maxwell got things started with a three-pointer --- his only points of the game --- and the Pirates jumped to a 7-2 lead in the game's opening minutes. Elon stormed back, outscoring the Pirates 10-2 over the next three minutes, to lead, 12-9. After falling behind, the Pirates outscored the Phoenix 7-0 to go ahead 23-21 midway through the first half.

Shooting 61.9 percent from the field, Hampton led, 30-23, at the 7:18 mark. In a battle of streaks, Elon scored seven consecutive points to tie the score 30-30. Hampton then scored seven consecutive points of its own to lead 37-30. Hampton led, 39-32, at intermission.

Mullen led the way for Hampton with nine first half points and Wilcox Jr, added eight. Elon's Sam Sherry led all scorers with 12 points in the opening half. Hampton outrebounded the Phoenix, 23-13, and shot 53.3 from the field in the first 20 minutes of play.

Elon turned the seven-point halftime deficit into a six-point win by outscoring the Pirates 48-35 in the second stanza.

A Benson basket to open the second half, gave the Pirates a 41-32 advantage, Hampton's largest lead of the game. Shooting 75 percent from the field to start the second half, Elon scored nine straight points and outscored the Pirates 21-9 to tie the score at 45 with 16:33 to go in the contest.

Tied 63-63, Elon went on a 7-0 run to go ahead 70-63 with 4:00 left. But Hampton refused to fold and battled back setting up the game's dramatic closing seconds.
The Pirates return to action on Feb. 1 at North Carolina A&T at 7:00 p.m. The Aggies downed the Pirates, 81-80, on Jan. 15 at the Hampton Convocation Center.