The Hampton Pirates loudly introduced themselves in the 2024 CAA Tournament by grabbing their first-ever tournament win in a 56-55 cage match against the Elon Phoenix. Hampton fought back against the Phoenix's last gasp attempts to come out with the close victory.

In what has been a largely disappointing season, the Pirates have turned around their previous poor play in the past month. Since Feb. 17, Hampton has won four of their last six games, including this win over Elon. Though the Phoenix only posted a 13-18 (6-12) record coming into the game, Hampton's was even worse. Their 13-game losing streak in the middle of the season tanked their record to an abysmal 8-23 (3-15), the worst conference record in the CAA and the second worst overall record. Furthermore, Elon beat the Pirates in their own home, 80-74, earlier in the season.

However, when one-and-done tournament time comes around, past records hold no weight. All that matters is the present. Hampton understood this by grabbing an early 7-4 lead and never looking back for nearly the entire game.

They stunned the #11 seed Phoenix, jumping out to an eight-point cushion courtesy of an 11-1 run. Elon closed the deficit by half, but the Pirates stepped back on the gas with key contributions from multiple players. Pirate guard Jordan Nesbitt guided his team to an 11-point lead with three assists to Joshua Lusane, Jerry Deng on a three-pointer, and Kyrese Mullen. Hampton extended their lead to as much as 14 points before the Phoenix cut it to nine by the halftime break.

The Pirates held a sizable lead for a good chunk of the second half, but Elon kept chipping away at the deficit. After fluctuating between leads over and under 10 points for a while, the Phoenix firmly established a single-digit deficit after a jumper from Sam Sherry.

Sherry's shot cut the Pirate advantage to six points, 51-45. Elon continued the assault with a three-pointer from Nick Dorn and a transition layup from Max Mackinnon, forcing Hampton to call a timeout with their heads just above water on a 51-50 lead.

Coming out of the timeout, Mullen turned the ball over, eventually leading to a Sherry layup and Elon's first lead since early in the first half. In the final few minutes of the game, neither team could buy a bucket. Both offenses screeched to a halt, but Hampton's phenom freshman Jerry Deng came to the rescue with a huge three-pointer, giving them a slight 54-52 lead. After more than two minutes of tension and missed shot attempts, Elon's TK Simpkins hit what many thought to be the dagger. He caught the ball on the perimeter, pump faked the defender, and drilled a three-pointer.

Holding a slim one-point lead, the Phoenix stopped Mullen's bull rush towards the rim on the ensuing possession as Sherry swatted his layup out of bounds. Although the Pirates were out of timeouts, the Phoenix took one to set their defense. This gave Hampton one last attempt to draw up a play. Ford Cooper inbounded the ball as Mullen faked a screen and slipped towards the basket for a contested layup. With just six seconds remaining, the Pirates eked ahead as Mullen's shot banked in. The Phoenix took their final timeout and had plenty of time to get the ball down the court. Isaac Harrell lined up a decent look from three-point range, but he missed the attempt, giving Hampton the 56-55 victory.

TK Simpkins carried the Elon Phoenix in their final game of the season. He finished with 18 points (eight of which came from free throws), four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Sam Sherry ended right behind him with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double which he augmented with three blocks. No other Phoenix scored in double figures, but Isaac Harrell ended with 10 rebounds.

For his efforts throughout the game, Jerry Deng earned the Player of the Game award for the Hampton Pirates. He led Hampton with 16 points, three rebounds, and two made three-pointers, one of which gave them a late lead. Ja'Von Benson was the only other Pirate in double-figures with 11 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Nesbitt struggled from the field, shooting 2-12, but he finished with seven assists.

The #14 seed Pirates thoroughly celebrated this win in the locker room, but they have to prepare quickly for what lies ahead. They take on the #6 seed Delaware Blue Hens on March 9 at 8:30 p.m. The Blue Hens ended the regular season with an 18-13 (10-8) record and routed Hampton earlier this season, 80-53.