HAMPTON, Va. (Jan. 19, 2026) … In a battle between North Carolina A&T's potent offense and Hampton's stingy defense, the Pirates overcame a slow start to post an 82-61 triumph before an audience of 4,776 on Martin Luther King Day. It marked Hampton's 10th consecutive victory at the Convocation Center.

"It was a superior atmosphere tonight. The band, the students, the crowd … they were really into it," Coach Ivan Thomas said. "We got off to a slow start but we fed off the energy from the crowd and battled back."

North Carolina A&T (7-10, 0-6) struck first … and second … and third … and led 8-0 in the opening minutes of the game before Daniel Johnson's bucket at the 18:43 mark put Hampton (9-10, 3-3) on the scoreboard. The A&T lead grew to 11, 22-11, with 13:22 left in the first half.

But the Pirate scratched and clawed their way back into the game. Later, a 13-0 Pirate rally, capped by Aidan Haskins's three-pointer with 5:28 to go, gave Hampton its first lead of the night, 32-30.

Hampton pulled away to build a 43-34 advantage at intermission as the Pirates outscored the Aggies 32-12 in the last 5:28 of the first half. Hampton scored nine of the final 13 points of the half.

Hampton's bench keyed the comeback by scoring 27 of Hampton's 43 first half points. Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt (11 points) and Michael Eley (9) came off the bench and sparked the Pirate offense.

Hampton also scored 12 points on five Aggie turnovers.

Eunique Rink's scored a basket to start the second half and Gaines-Wyatt added another as the Hampton lead grew to 12, 47-35. A&T went with a field goal until the 14:07 mark when Trent Middleton Jr., snapped the drought with a pull-up jumper.

The Pirates held the Aggies scoreless for the last 1:43 of the first half and the first 3:53 of the second half before Dwayne Pierce made a free throw. Another Pirate run, an 8-0 spurt, made it 76-56 in the closing minutes. Hampton cleared the bench and finished with a 21-point victory over their CAA HBCU counterparts.

Hampton's relentless ruthless play on the defensive end led to eight blocked shots and 10 Aggie turnovers which the Pirates turned into 16 points. A&T had averaged 77.0 points versus CAA opponents before being limited to 61 points. Hampton had scored at a 68.0 clip against league competition before exploding for 82 against the Aggies.

Gaines-Wyatt scored 24 points, one short of his career high. Eley chipped in 18 points and Johnson had nine points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Thew homestand continued as the Pirates entertain Monmouth on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.