HAMPTON, Va. (Feb. 5, 2026) … In a back-and-forth contest in which there were 12 ties and 10 lead changes, Hampton (11-13, 5-6) outlasted Elon (13-10, 5-5) 87-79 in double overtime. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Pirates. Playing before a boisterous crowd, the Pirates won their 12th game in the last 13 outings at the Convocation Center.
It was the first double overtime game for Hampton since Nov. 29, 2018 and the first double overtime victory since Dec. 2, 2015 when Hampton won 98-94 at Northern Arizona.
"Our practices are intense and we needed that intensity when we got to overtime," Coach Ivan Thomas said. "Our defense took control down the stretch and our guys gutted it out." Hampton held Elon to 25 percent shooting in the two overtime periods.
Daniel Johnson gave the Pirates a quick 2-0 lead to start the game. But Hampton got off to a slow start and trailed 15-11 midway through the first half shooting just 2-of-15 from the field. Tied 17-17, the Pirates reeled off six straight points to put Hampton ahead 23-17. Elon whittled the Hampton lead to two, 23-21 before a seven-point Pirate run put Hampton ahead 30-21 with 4:12 left. But the Phoenix finished strong, outscoring the Pirates 12-3 and scoring the final seven points of the tie to tie the score 33-33 at intermission.
Elon's Chandler Cuthrell, the Coastal Athletic Association's leading scorer, tallied 18 points in the first 20 minutes while Elon canned 46.2 percent of its shots. Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt led the Pirates with nine points. After a slow start, Hampton shot 37.5 percent from the field.
In a seesaw second half, both teams took turns scoring. Hampton took a 48-46 lead but Elon scored the game's next seven points to retake the lead 53-48. It was Hampton's turn and the Pirates scored the game's next five points to tie the contest 53-53 at the 8:39 mark.
Hampton trailed 64-59 with 3:57 remaining but managed to eat into the Phoenix lead from the free throw line. Trailing 64-61 with :24.3 seconds left, Daniel Johnson drained a long three-pointer ---- Hamptons' first field goal in more than four minutes --- to knot the score. The Phoenix had the last possession but the shot went awry sending the game into overtime.
Elon scored first in the overtime period hitting the offensive boards and tipping in an errant shot to go ahead 66-64. But the Pirates battled back to take the lead. Ahead 73-70, Elon's Ned Hull hit a trey to tie the score. Hampton had a chance to put it away but missed two free throws in the closing seconds forcing a second overtime.
Hampton took control in the second overtime. Gaines-Wyatt's three put the Pirates ahead 76-73. After two Elon free throws, Gaines-Wyatt hit a pair from the charity stripe and an
Etienne Strothers steal and dunk made it 80-75. The Phoenix closed to 80-77 in favor of the Pirates. But Strothers, who scored a career-high 18 points, made a driving lay-up and then added two free throws.
Eunique Rink's 1:24 free throw put the game out of reach.
Elon 's Cuthrell finished with 32 points in a losing effort. Gaines-Wyatt paced the Pirates with 23 points. In addition to Strothers (18 points), Johnson (18) and Ogundele (11) also scored double figures.
The Pirates are back in action on Saturday when Hampton hosts William & Mary at the Convocation Center with a 2:30 pm tipoff.
