STONY BROOK, N.Y. (Feb. 21, 2026) … After playing on even terms in the first half, Stony Brook (17-11, 9-6) built a 17-point lead midway through the second half and withstood a furious Hampton (12-16, 6-9) rally to edge the Pirates 79-72 before 2,433 fans at Stony Brook Arena.

Hampton's leading scorer, Michael Eley, had missed the previous five games due to injury but returned to lead the Pirates with 17 points including 15 in the second half.

But it was Etienne Strothers singled-handedly matched Stony Brook point-for-point in the first four minutes of the game. Strothers had eight points as Hampton held a 10-8 advantage at the first media timeout.

Led by Erik Pratt, the Coastal Athletic Association's fourth-leading scorer (19.0 points per game), the Seawolves battled back. There were six ties and four lead changes in the first 20 minutes. Stony Brook scored the last six points of the first half to take a 33-29 lead at intermission.

Strothers finished with 11 first half points only to be outdone by Pratt, who had 15 points for Stony Brook. Eley joined the team in New York in time for the Stony Brook tilt. Playing six minutes in the first half after the long lay-off, he scored two points and garnered a rebound.

Stony Brook scored the first four points of the second half to go ahead by eight before Daniel Johnson's old -fashion three-point play and Eley's jumper play closed the gap. But Stony Brook then reeled off 13 straight points to lead 53-36 with 13:28 to go, its largest lead of the game. Eley made two free throws to stop the Seawolf skein.

The Pirates closed to 57-49 on a 9-0 run capped by a driving lay-up by Williams. Following a Seawolf bucket, Eley hit another trey and Long added a free throw and a dunk to make it 59-55 with 6:00 to go but would get no closer. Stony Brook regrouped and outscored the Pirates 7-2 to go ahead 66-57 with 2:27 left.

Stony Brook's final 10 points were all from the free throw line but Hampton kept answering and keeping the game close. Hampton closed to 77-72 on Eley's trey with 11 seconds left.
Stony Brook's Pratt led all scorers with 34 points. Eley paced the Pirates with 17 points in his first game back with Xzavier Long and Williams each scoring 12. Strothers finished with 11, all in the first half.

The Pirates return home to face Charleston (18-10) on Thursday, Feb. 26. Tip-off is 11:00 am at the Convocation Center as Hampton celebrates Kids Day.