The victory stretched Hampton’s winning streak to five, the longest winning skein in five years.
The game was broadcast nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
But things got off to a slow start. Howard jumped to an 8-2 lead at the 12:35 mark as Hampton missed its first 11 shots from the field. The two teams combined to make just two of their first 20 shots from the field.
But back-to-back three-pointers by Hampton’s George Beale Jr. tied the game 8-8 midway through the first half. A trey by Etienne Strothers with 8:56 to go gave the Pirates their first lead at 13-10.
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The Pirates tallied six straight points to boost the lead to 28-21 just before halftime.
After misfiring on its first 11 shots, Hampton shot 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from the field the rest of the half to lead 31-23 at intermission.
A buzzer beater 3 from @hupirates_mbb puts them up 8 going into halftime. pic.twitter.com/a5Vu4Tf2Lx
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) December 28, 2024
Daniel Johnson came off the bench to score eight points to pace the Pirates. George Beale Jr. finished the half with six points on a pair of three-pointers. Howard’s Blake Harper led all scorers in the first half with 12 points.
Hampton outscored Howard 20-10 to start the second half and built a 51-33 lead. The lead grew to 22 with 6:01 left in the contest on a Wayne Bristol Jr. three-pointer, making the score 67-45.
The Bison trimmed the lead to 77-65 in the game’s final minutes. But the Pirates were a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line in the final 2:08 to erase any hope of a comeback by Howard.
Hampton shot a sizzling 60.9 percent from the field in the second half while converting 17 of 20 free throws. Hampton hit 13 three-pointers in the contest. The Pirates bench chipped in 38 points in the win.
Courtesy: Hampton Athletics
