HAMPTON, Va. (Jan. 30, 2026) … Hampton squares off against Towson in a rematch of their New Year's Eve battle. In that game, the Pirates slipped past the Tigers 63-62 in a classic defensive struggle.

That has become the trademark of the 2025-26 Pirates: unyielding, inflexible defense. Hampton limited league favorite Towson to just 60 points on New Year's Eve and held first-place UNCW to 49 points on Jan. 3.

CAA foes are averaging just 62.0 points against the Pirates.

The team's mantra is: GO TO WORK and is best illustrated by the beat up old tool chest that Coach Ivan Thomas totes to games.

After five straight losing seasons, Coach Thomas's first team posted a much-improved 17-16 mark a year ago.

Seven of Hampton's final nine games are against teams with winning records and the nine have a combined overall record of 108-85 (.560). The Pirates will have to "Go to Work."

The Game
On New Year's Eve, Hampton snatched a 63-62 win over Towson. Hampton's balanced offense was led by Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt (15 points), Daniel Johnson (14) and Elijah Kennedy (14).

Gaines-Wyatt scored Hampton's last seven points in final 3:01 to overcome a 58-56 Towson lead.  Hampton held the Tigers to 38.2 percent shooting.

Saturdays are Sad-days for the Pirates. Hampton has an 0-5 record in Saturday games this season. Hampton is looking to snap the streak against the Tigers. The Pirates have also lost five consecutive games away from home.

After starting league play 0-4, the Tigers won four straight before falling to North Carolina A&T and UNCW.

With Michael Eley out of action (turf toe), Hampton is without its leading scorer (12.7 pg).

Guard Gaines-Wyatt (11.7 ppg), forward Daniel Johnson (9.6 ppg) and forward Xzavier Long (9.6 ppg) have picked up the slack. Long leads the CAA and is 13th in the nation in rebounding (10.2 rpg).

Tyler Tejada led the Tigers in the first meeting against the Pirates, He finished with a team-high 26 points. Shooting just 3-of-13 from the field, he converted 10-of-13 shots from the charity stripe.

Towson won four of the first five meetings between the two teams between 2008-23. But Hampton has won two of the last three match-ups since Hampton joined the CAA.