BUIES CREEK, N.C. (January 8, 2026) … Hampton's Michael Eley was on fire and had the best game of his career but it was not enough as Hampton (8-9, 2-2) fell to Campbell (9-8, 3-1) 86-72. Eley, who had been slowed by injury, tallied more than half of Hampton's points and finished with a career-best 43 points and tied his season-high with eight rebounds.

Hampton scored the game's first four points only to see Campbell reel off 13 straight points to lead 13-4 at the 16:23 mark. Hampton's next eight possessions resulted in a field goal, two free throws, seven turnovers and a technical foul. The lead grew to 14 and the Camels held a 43-30 lead at intermission.

There were 19 personal fouls and three technical fouls whistled in the first half resulting in 33 free throws. Things weren't any better in the second stanza when the two teams combined for another 25 personal fouls. In all, there were 44 personal fouls (25 on Hampton and 19 on Campbell) in the 40-minute game.

The Pirates shot a torrid 55.6 percent from the field and outrebounded Campbell 15-13 but 14 turnovers turned into 15 Campbell points. Eley came off the bench to score 13 first-half points to lead all scorers. Campbell's Jeremiah Johnson (11 points) and D.J. Smith (10) each scored double-figures in the first 20 minutes of play.

Hampton's Christian Watson scored first bucket to start the second half and the Pirates were able to cut the Campbell lead to 10, 46-36. But a 15-5 run upped the Camels margin to 61-41 on a layup by Smith at the 13:57 mark.

A layup and dunk by Eley made it 61-45 with 12:31 to go. Later, six Pirate turnovers in a span of 2:43 led to eight Camel points and a 73-48 lead with 8:50 left.

A 13-2 run for the Pirates cut the gap to 75-61 with 3:55 to go with Eley accounting for eight of the points.

For the game, Hampton was guilty of 21 turnovers leading to 26 Campbell points. Smith finished with 26 points and Johnson had 18 to lead the Camels.

Eley's career night is tied for the most points in a game in Hampton's NCAA Division I history, tied for the fifth most in a game in school history and eighth all-time in CAA history. 

Hampton's three-game road set concludes with a Sunday, Jan. 10 date at Charleston. Tip-off is set for 5:00 pm. The Pirates return to the Convocation Center on Jan. 19 to take on longtime rival North Carolina A&T at 9:00 in a game aired on CBS Sports.