Box Score HAMPTON, Va. (Feb. 8, 2024) … In a game that went down to the final seconds, Hofstra (14-10, 7-4) defeated Hampton (5-19, 0-11), 63-59. Trailing by two, Hampton held the ball for the final shot. But a missed shot, foul and two Hofstra free throws spelled defeat for the Pirates.

The game was close throughout. Hampton held a six-point advantage with 6:33 left in the game. But Hofstra scored 12 of the game's final 14 points after trailing 57-51 to claim the win.

Hofstra held an eight-point advantage midway through the second half before Hampton rallied by scoring seven consecutive points to get back in the game. The Pirates built a six-point lead five minutes into the game only to see the Pride battle back to tie the score 27-27 at halftime.

Joshua Lusane led the way for Hampton with 13 points. Ja'Von Benson registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Jerry Deng had 10 points for the Pirates. Hofstra's Tyler Thomas scored 28 points to lead all scorers. Teammate Dubar Darlinstone finished with 16 points.

Hofstra led briefly, by one point, in the opening minute of play. But Hampton's Joshua Lusane scored four points as Hampton took an 11-5 lead five minutes into the game. That was the biggest lead of the first half as the two teams battled on even terms. The Pirates led through the rest of the half before Jaquan Carlos scored with eight seconds left to tie the score, 27-27, at intermission.

Hampton's Deng tallied eight first half points offset by Hofstra's Thomas who had 11 first half points.

Hofstra took a four-point lead on lay-ups by Jacco Fritz and Thomas to give the Pride a 33-29 lead with 17:10 left. After a long three-pointer by Tedrick Wilcox Jr., another Hofstra lay-up, this one by Darlinstone Dubar, boosted Hofstra's lead to 35-32. The Pride lead grew to eight, 43-35, with 14:39 to go on a trey by Thomas. Hofstra made 7-of-9 shots, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, to start the second half.

In a flurry of action --- and points --- both teams raced up-and-down the court. Hampton went on a 7-0 run to trail by one, 43-42, on a Tristan Maxwell trey with 12:49 left. A pair of Lusane buckets put the Pirates ahead, 46-44. After Hofstra retook the lead, Lusane hit a long trey to put the Pirates back ahead, 52-49. The Pirates made 6-of-8 shots from the field to go ahead, 57-51. But Hofstra roared back scoring eight consecutive points to take a 59-57 lead with 3:48 to go.

The game was reminiscent of Hampton's last game against Howard in the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic. Only the results were reversed. Trailing in the final seconds, Hampton made a pair of three-pointers to pull off a 63-61 win over Howard. This time Hofstra outscored Hampton, 12-2 to pull the come-from-behind win.