HAMPTON, Va. (Nov. 5, 2025) ... After opening the 2025-26 campaign on the road at Milwaukee on Monday, Coach Ivan Thomas and his Hampton Pirates return for the home-opener against Mid-Atlantic Christian on Thursday at the Convocation Center.

The game is the lone home contest in the month of November for the Pirates. Hampton will embark on a six-game road trip taking the Pirates to Charlottesville, Va., Providence, R.I., Boston, Mass., Norfolk, Va. and Princess Anne, Md. before the Pirates return home to host the Apprentice School on Dec. 1 with a 7 p.m. tip-off.

Mid-Atlantic Christian finished with an 18-14 mark last season including a sparkling 11-1 record in United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

Hampton beat the Mustangs 110-53 a year ago. But the Mustangs played tough and trailed just 19-13 midway through the first half.

The game will mark the first opportunity for Pirate fans to see their team in action.

Coming off a tough season-opening 90-86 loss on the road at Milwaukee on Nov. 3 to tip-off the 2025-26 campaign, Hampton returns home to face Mid-Atlantic Christian.

The teams have tangled five times in the previous eight years. Hampton has had the upper-hand and has won all five meetings by an average of 59.0 points with a 111.6 scoring norm.

The Mustangs have used the experience to prepare themselves for conference competition. Mid-Atlantic Christian rebounded from last season's 110-53 defeat at the hands of the Pirates. The Mustangs went on to post an 18-14 mark last year including an impressive 11-1 worksheet in United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

Hampton first action of 2025-26 with an 82-79 victory over Old Dominion in an Oct. 26 exhibition game. The Pirates trailed the Monarchs just once in the contest and led by as many as 12 points on several occasions.

In the regular-season opener at Milwaukee, Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt tallied a team-high 25 points with five assists.

Hampton returns five players from last year's team including sophomore guard Daniel Johnson (7.6 ppg), senior forward Xzavier Long (6.6 ppg), redshirt sophomore guard Etienne Strothers (4.1 ppg), sophomore forward Eunique Rink (2.1 ppg) and redshirt freshman Hazma Asadallah (0.0 ppg). The Pirates return 25.3 percent of the team's scoring from 2024-25.