HAMPTON, Va. (Feb. 13, 2025) … Hampton (14-13, 6-9) thrashed Hofstra (12-15, 4-10) 67-49 to post its fourth victory in the last five outings. The Pirates led by 19 at intermission and held a 24-point lead late in the second half. Wayne Bristol Jr. came off the bench to lead all scorers with 16 points. Noah Farrakhan (14), and George Beale Jr. (11) also scored double figures for the Pirates. Jaquan Sanders (12) and Jean Aranguren (10) were the leading scorers for Hofstra.

The win marked the first victory for Hampton over Hofstra in five tries. Though the game lacked the tradition and history of the 95 meetings when Hampton and Howard play in the Battle of the Real HU, the clash pitting Hampton and Hofstra has implications for the Coastal Athletic Association standings and tournament seedings.

Both teams got off to slow starts. In fact, the game was still scoreless after the first three minutes of play and the first field goal was by Hofstra's Aranguren at the 16:44 mark. Hampton didn't get its first field goal until Beale Jr. made a layup with 15:00 to go in the half. The two teams combined to shoot a combined 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from the field in the game's opening minutes.

Once the Pirates got untracked, they went ahead 14-6 with 11:49 to go on a basket Wayne Bristol Jr. Hampton reeled off 10 straight points to lead 26-11 after a three-pointer by Bristol Jr. and a jumper by Farrakhan. Hampton's pressure defense forced eight turnovers with five steals turning the miscues into 10 points.

The lead continued to grow and the Pirates went ahead 30-14 on a Beale layup with 3:07 left. Hampton scored five of the last seven points of the half to lead 35-16 at intermission. The Pride made just one of its last 12 shots from the field to close out the half.

After its slow start, Hampton clicked on 50 percent (13-of-26) shots from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range (5-of-11) the rest of the first half. Hofstra shot 23.1 percent while making just 1-of-9 three-point attempts. The Pirates held a 24-13 rebound advantage. Beale Jr. and Farrakhan each scored nine points to lead the Pirates and Aranguren had six of Hofstra's 16 points and was the only Pride player with more than one field goal in the first half.

Hofstra scored 12 of the first 16 points to start the second half to cut the deficit to 39-28. But a 9-0 Hampton run capped by Good's trey put the Pirates ahead 46-28 with 11:47 left. Hampton's lead grew to 63-39 with 3:07 left as the Pride went without a field goal for just over six minutes before a layup by Silas Sunday.

Hampton's 18-point win marked the largest margin of victory for the Pirates in a CAA contest. The loss extended Hofstra's losing streak to five games. The Pride have won 20 or more games in each of Coach Speedy Claxton's first three seasons at the helm.

Hampton's four-game homestand continues on Thursday, Feb. 20 when the Pirates entertain Stony Brook at 7:00 p.m. at the Hampton Convocation Center. The Pirates host UNCW on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2:00 in the final home game of the 2024-25 campaign.