Smith leads Campbell against Hampton

By Canadian Press on January 7, 2026.

Hampton Pirates (8-8, 2-1 CAA) at Campbell Fighting Camels (8-8, 2-1 CAA)

Buies Creek, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Campbell faces Hampton after DJ Smith scored 31 points in Campbell’s 97-82 victory over the Northeastern Huskies.

The Fighting Camels are 6-0 in home games. Campbell ranks fifth in the CAA in rebounding with 34.8 rebounds. Dovydas Butka paces the Fighting Camels with 9.4 boards.

The Pirates are 2-1 in CAA play. Hampton is 3-2 in games decided by 10 or more points.

Campbell makes 45.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.5 percentage points higher than Hampton has allowed to its opponents (42.4%). Hampton’s 43.0% shooting percentage from the field this season is 4.9 percentage points lower than Campbell has allowed to its opponents (47.9%).

The Fighting Camels and Pirates match up Thursday for the first time in CAA play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Smith is scoring 19.0 points per game with 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Fighting Camels. Butka is averaging 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 53.5% over the last 10 games.

Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt is averaging 10.9 points and 3.1 assists for the Pirates. Christian Watson is averaging 9.2 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Camels: 5-5, averaging 80.4 points, 34.1 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 6.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.0 points per game.

Pirates: 6-4, averaging 70.4 points, 31.4 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 7.3 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.8 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press