NORFOLK, Va. (Nov. 21, 2025) … Daniel Johnson scored 15 points and Michael Eley added 14 for Hampton men's basketball as a late rally fell short in falling 62-60 to Norfolk State in the Battle of the Bay on Friday night at Joe Echols Hall.
The Pirates struck first Friday night when Xzavier Long skipped a cross court pass to Josh Ogundele for his first three pointer of the season. The two sides then traded buckets over the course of the first six minutes with the Spartans holding on to an early 11-7 lead. An Xzavier Long three at the 13 minute mark gave Hampton the lead back, but it was Norfolk St. swiftly responding with a three of their own to take a 14-12 lead into the second media timeout.
Norfolk St. continued to hold on to a slim lead over the next few minutes with their lead growing to six with just under seven remaining in the first frame at 20-14. After a Daniel Johnson and-one fast break layup had quickly erased that deficit to just three with three minutes remaining in the first half. Hampton closed the game on a 10-3 run in large part to Michael Eley's seven consecutive points, capped off by a Christian Watson three at the buzzer to knot the score at 30 going into the break.
Hampton shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, while also draining four three pointers. Eley's seven first half points led Hampton, as Johnson poured in six of his own. Long once again led the Pirates in rebounds in the first frame, hauling in a game high six, while Hampton held Norfolk St. to just 39 percent from the field.
The Spartans started the second half on a 5-0 run, stifling the Pirate offense early to take a 35-30 lead before Johnson buried a three to halt the run. After the two sides traded blows, Norfolk St. led the Pirates by two at the under 12 media timeout 42-40. The two sides continued to exchanged baskets over the course of the next four minutes as the Spartans led 51-50 with seven minutes remaining.
Johnson buried back-to-back shots for Hampton at the five minute mark to give Hampton a three minute lead, but once again the Spartans responded with a three pointer at 4:26 to tie things up once more. A 5-0 run by the Spartans late gave Norfolk St. a commanding 60-55 with a little over a minute left, but after a Quintin Cooper driving layup and Johnson free throw, the Pirates trailed by just two at 60-58. After a Spartan turnover, Etienne Strothers drained the biggest shot of the night with 30.1 on the clock to knot things at 60 on a turnaround jumper. A Hampton foul with 26.7 left gave the Spartans a lead at 61-60 after Elijah Jamison split a pair of free throws. After a Pirate miss, the Spartans used a free throw from Jacquel Morris to ice the game.
UP NEXT:
The Pirates close out their road swing heading to Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. start. They'll be home again to start December against The Apprentice School on December 1 also at 7 p.m.
