Hampton University’s men’s basketball team could get a jolt of confidence from Sunday’s preseason exhibition against Old Dominion at Chartway Arena, while the Monarchs will be looking to learn.
The Pirates led almost throughout, and by as many as 13 points, before holding on for an 82-79 victory. HU shot an impressive 58% (29 of 50) as ODU hit 46% (28 of 61).
“Our goal was to give a lot of players time on the court,” coach Ivan Thomas said on hamptonpirates.com. “We used multiple offenses and had different lineups, which was one of our goals. It was an exhibition game, but you want to win every time you set foot on the court.”
Alcorn State transfer Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt made an immediate impact for the Pirates with 18 points and five assists in 29 minutes. Returnee Xzavier Long was 4 for 4 from the field, half of those from 3-point range, and 6 of 8 on free throws on the way to 16 points and 10 rebounds. Southern Mississippi transfer Christian Watson added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
For ODU, LJ Thomas was 9 of 14 from the field and had 22 points, four rebounds and three assists. He transferred from Austin Peay, having led the Governors with 14.2 points and 3.9 assists per game last season, after playing two years as an NC State reserve.
KC Shaw provided 17 points, though he was just 5 of 12 from the free-throw line. Caelum Swanton-Rodger, Zacch Wiggins and Scottie Hubbard added 10 points apiece.
Hampton moved ahead to stay at 7-5 when Gaines-Wyatt sank a 3-pointer with 15:57 on the first-half clock. The Pirates moved ahead 25-12, weathered a 13-2 ODU run that trimmed the margin to 27-25, and were ahead 41-32 at the half.
The advantage returned to 13 (64-51) when Quintin Cooper sank a jumper with 8:31 remaining. ODU got as close as 81-79 on a Thomas 3-pointer with 9 seconds remaining.
Long hit 1 of 2 free throws with the clock below 4 seconds, and Wiggins missed short on a desperation 3-pointer as time expired.
Both teams were picked fifth in their conference — ODU in the 14-team Sun Belt, Hampton in the 13-team Coastal Athletic Association. They will begin the regular season with Nov. 3 road games: ODU at Miami of Ohio and Hampton at Milwaukee.