HAMPTON, Va. (Dec. 28, 2024) … Hampton (8-5) overcame a slow start before overpowering archrival Howard (5-8), 83-67, in the annual Battle of the Real HU before 4,213 fans at the Hampton Convocation Center. 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 to their first lead, 13-10. 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. 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 to build 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 canned 13 treys with seven players making a three-pointer in the contest. The Pirate bench chipped in 38 points in the win.  

Four players scored in double figures for the Pirates including Bristol (18), Noah Farakhan (17), Beale (13), and Kyrese Mullen (11). Howard's Harper led all scorers with 30 points. Cameron Shockley-Okeke came off the bench to score 10 points for the Bison. Mullen also grabbed nine rebounds in the win.