CHARLESTON, S.C. (Jan. 10, 2026) … Charleston (11-6, 4-0) won its seventh consecutive game but it was a nail-biter as the Cougars downed upstart Hampton (8-10, 2-3) 74-70 before 4,875 fans at TD Bank Arena.

The Pirates trailed by as many as 12 and never held the lead. But the never-say-die Pirates tied the score twice in the game's waning moments forcing Charleston to make its free down the stretch to hold on for the win. Hampton is winless in six games against the Cougars.

Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt, who had scored just three points in the previous two contests, exploded for a team-high 17 points to help spur the Pirate comeback. Michael Eley and Daniel Johnson each scored 14 and Xzavier Long registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Hampton owned the boards, outrebounding Charleston 39-28 with 20 offensive rebounds.

The two teams traded three-pointers to start the game. A trey by Charleston was matched by one by Hampton's Johnson. Charleston hit another three and was then fouled on a three-point attempt leading to three free throws giving the Cougars a 9-3 lead 2:59 into the game.

Charleston's lead grew to 10, 15-5 with 14:46 left in the first half. Later, trailing 20-11, a three-pointer by Eley followed by a basket by Johnson closed the gap to 20-16.

After Charleston went ahead 24-16 at the 4:36 mark, the Pirates outscored the Cougars 10-4 the rest of the half with an Elijah Kennedy lay-up with :24 left to close to 28-26.

Despite shooting just 25.7 percent from the field including a 1-of-11 stretch late in the half, Hampton's swarming, aggressive defense kept them in the game. Hampton outrebounded the Cougars 27-14 in the first half with 13 offensive rebounds. Eley and Long led the way with seven points each. Colby Duggan and Jlynn Counter each had eight points for Charleston.

A Charleston dunk to start the second half spurred the Cougars to a 15-7 run to up the Charleston lead to 45-33. The Cougars hit their first five shots from the field and Duggan chipped in 10 of the 17 points to start the half.

But Coach Ivan Thomas's team refused to fold. Hitting 7-of-8 shots from the field, the Pirates clawed back scoring 10 straight points. An old-fashioned three-point play by Gaines-Wyatt closed the deficit to one, 53-52 with 8:01 to go.

Hampton tied the score 59-59 on a floater by Johnson with 4:49 to go. The defensive-minded Pirates held the Cougars without a field goal for 4:48.

But five consecutive free throws by the Cougars gave Charleston a 64-59 cushion. Hampton could get no closer than two the rest of the way. Gaines-Wyatt made a pair of free throws with :08 left to close to 70-68 and his lay-up with :03 left made it 72-70 but the Cougars made their free throws to keep the Pirates at bay.

The Pirates are off until Monday, Jan. 19 at 9 p.m. when Hampton takes on longtime rival North Carolina A&T at the Convocation Center. The game will be televised on CBS Sports.