Hampton overcame a slow start before blowing past archrival Howard 83-67 in the annual Battle of the Real HU on Saturday.
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
