HAMPTON, Va. (Dec. 31, 2025) … In a back-and-forth game in which there were 11 lead changes and 12 ties, Hampton (8-7, 2-0) posted an impressive 63-62 victory over Towson (8-7, 0-2) before 1,548 fans at the Convocation Center. It marked Hampton's ninth consecutive win at home for Coach Ivan Thomas's crew dating back to last season.
It was a birthday gift of sorts from the team to their second-year coach, Thomas celebrates his 51st birthday on New Year's Day and what better gift than a triumph over one of the top teams in the conference.
Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt finished with a team high 15 points and scored Hampton's last seven points with two field goals and three free throws in the final 3:01 to hold off the Tigers. Elijah Kennedy and Daniel Johnson each scored 14 points in the win.
But it was Hampton's physical defensive play that made the difference. The Coastal Athletic Association's coaches tabbed Towson the favorite to win the league crown this season. But the Pirates held the Tigers to 38 percent from the field, 16 percent from three-point range and 65 percent from the line.
"It was a physical game but we were ready for that," Coach Thomas said. "I think our schedule gave us an advantage. We played five very physical teams and we were used to that style of play."
In a rough-and-tumble start to the game with two technical fouls called in the first 3:23 of the contest. The Tigers took a quick 6-0 lead in the contest thanks to four free throws. But the Pirates battled back behind the play of Johnson, who hit a trey and then dunk to cap a 7-0 Hampton run to put the Pirates on top 12-10 at the 14:25 mark.
Tied 27-27, an 8-0 Pirate run put Hampton ahead 35-27 on a lay-up by Kody Williams, its largest lead of the game. Towson tallied the final four points of the half to trail the Pirates 37-31 at intermission.
Hampton shot a sizzling 58.3 percent from the field in the first half. Johnson led all scorers with 14 points in the first half and Kennedy added eight for the Pirates off the bench.
Towson outscored the Pirates 7-1 to start the second half to tie the score 38-38 at the 16:14 mark. The Tigers had a 57-56 advantage with 5:15 to go on an old fashioned three-point play by Jaquan Womack.
From there it became the Gaines-Wyatt Show. Two Gaines-Wyatt free throws knotted the score again before Towson's Chike Ndefo's bucket put the Tigers back on top 60-58 with 1:43 left. A Gaines-Wyatt lay-up tied the score 60-60 with just over a minute to go. Gaines-Wyatt struck again with a twisting layup in traffic and was fouled. He canned the free throw to give Hampton a 63-62 lead with 28.7 second to go.
With Hampton nursing a one-point lead in the final seconds, Towson's shot bounced high off the rim and over the backboard out of bounds giving the Pirates with the ball with 3.5 seconds remaining. A quick foul put Gaines-Wyatt at the line one last time. His free throw attempt rolled off the rim and the final horn sounded in the scrum to rebound the errant shot giving Hampton the victory.
Hampton played without the services of the team's leading scorer Michael Eley and Josh Ogundele who sat out the game due to illness.
Coach Thomas purchased 1,000 tickets for the game which were distributed to local youth groups, including Achievable Dreams, No Bully Zone, VA Giants, Aberdeen Basketball, 200+ Men Scholars Academy, Bethel High School JV and Varsity and the Boo Williams Sports Complex.
The Pirates begin a three-game road stretch when Hampton returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 pm at UNCW.
