CAA Men’s Basketball Recap – Feb. 13-14
Dylan Smith
North Carolina A&T 71, Hampton 70
Box Score
For the fifth time in eight CAA conference showdowns, the battle between North Carolina A&T (10-14, 3-10 CAA) and Hampton (12-14, 6-7 CAA) was decided by one point as a late three-point play by Trent Middleton Jr. erased a nine-point deficit and propelled the Aggies to a 71-70 victory in the fifth installment of the NBA HBCU Classic during at NBA All-Star 2026. The senior guard cut through the paint and drew contact through his up-and-under attempt, getting the bank off the glass before sinking the free throw to seal the game at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Middleton finished with 15 points, four boards, three assists and a trio of steals. Lewis Walker led all scorers with 18 points to go on a 5-of-9 shooting clip and eight made free throws. Will Felton rounded out those in double figures with 12 points of his own. The Pirates’ Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt and Xzavier Long scored 17 points apiece, while Elijah Kennedy added 13 points in reserve.
The Aggies’ Dwayne Pierce hit a trey to open the scoring from the West Coast before Daniel Johnson connected from distance, part of an 8-0 run out of the gate for the Pirates. Hampton eventually saw its lead grow to as many as nine, 28-19, after Gaines-Wyatt drove to the rim for a finish with 4:08 to play. A&T worked back to within four, 30-26, before the intermission, thanks to a layup in the lane by Zamoku Weluche-Ume.
Hampton’s Long hit a stepback trifecta from the corner that sparked four straight makes for the Pirates and a 38-29 lead early in the second half. Will Felton jumpstarted an 11-2 run, helping the Aggies pull within one possession, 40-37, with 14:07 to go. Middleton made it a one-point game at the midway point but was quickly countered by a triple from Kennedy to put the Pirates back ahead by four with under 10 minutes to play. After Hampton doubled its lead, A&T did not go away and used a 6-0 run, capped off by a Walker layup through contact, to cut the deficit to two, 60-58, with 3:13 to play. The Aggies continued to have an answer and erased a five-point deficit with 92 seconds remaining when Middleton stormed down the lane, finishing through contact and completing the three-point play with 4.3 seconds to go. Gaines-Wyatt went the length of the court on the final possession and watched his attempt rattle around the rim and out for the Aggies to hold on for the one-point win.
Elon 81, William & Mary 78
Box Score
Bryson Cokley sank seven 3-pointers, including the game-winner with two seconds remaining, to help Elon (14-13, 6-8 CAA) knock off William & Mary (16-10, 7-7 CAA) with an 81-78 victory. The Phoenix handed the Tribe just their second loss inside Kaplan Arena this season. The sophomore guard posted a career-high 29 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and a 6-for-6 showing at the charity stripe. Chandler Cuthrell chipped in 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Isaac Harrell rounded out those in double figures with 12 points of his own. Kyle Pulliam led four Tribe players with double-digit scoring efforts, notching 18 points.
A quick 9-3 spree through the early going, led by a five-point effort from Bryson Cokley, put the Phoenix ahead, 11-6, just under four minutes into the period. William & Mary flipped the script as Chase Lowe went back-to-back at the rim in transition before Pulliam connected on a triple from the corner to cap off a 13-3 spurt to take a 19-14 lead. After deadlocking the score at 28 and the Tribe scoring four straight points, Elon utilized a trio of 3-pointers, including two from Cokley, help secure a 43-36 lead at the break.
The two teams traded blows over the opening two minutes of the second half before a reverse layup from Cokley and a triple by Harrell gave Elon a double-digit lead, 53-42. The Tribe came surging back to take a 58-56 edge after swinging the ball around the perimeter to find an open Reese Miller in the corner, finishing off a 10-point spree that turned into a 16-3 run for the home team. Miller finished with 15 points. With eight ties over the final nine minutes, Elon’s Cokley sealed the game with his seventh triple of the contest, connecting from the wing with just seconds remaining on the clock.
UNCW 70, Hofstra 66
Box Score
Christian May’s late 3-pointer pushed UNCW (22-4, 11-2 CAA) to a 70-66 victory over Hofstra (17-10, 8-6 CAA) inside Trask Coliseum. The graduate guard logged 13 points, seven boards and a trio of assists. Wessler led the Seahawks with an 18-point, nine-rebound effort, while Madison Durr and Nolan Hodge chipped in 11 and 10 points apiece, respectively. Hofstra had two players eclipse the 20-point threshold in Cruz Davis (22 pts) and Preston Edmead (21 pts), and Joshua DeCady rounded out the Pride in double figures with 14 of his own.
The Seahawks jumped out to an early 10-2 lead after watching May knock down a triple to close out the run. The Pride retaliated with eight unanswered points as DeCady and Davis both connected from distance to tie the game. The two teams continued to trade runs until Davis sank another trey to deadlock the score at 22 with 6:28 to play in the opening frame. Greedy Williams gave UNCW a two-point cushion, 34-32, at the intermission with a floater in the lane on the team’s final possession.
After the Seahawks reclaimed a one-point edge just past the 13-minute mark, the Pride rattled off a 10-0 spree to claim a 51-42 advantage approaching the midway point of the frame. Wessler registered four of the next five points for UNCW, only for Edmead to connect from behind the arc to reclaim a seven-point lead, 51-44, with 8:47 to play. Hodge knotted the game with a triple before taking a two-point edge, 60-58, with a pair of free throws at 4:14. Edmead retaliated with five straight tallies for the Pride, including a stepback trey to make it 63-62 with 3:16 to play. DeCady hit a triple of his own with 2:20 to play, but UNCW’s May responded with a trifecta of his own from the wing to spark UNCW’s 6-0 run to end the contest.