Game Notes

BRONX, N.Y. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will take a break from the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday, as they travel to Rose Hill Gymnasium to take on the Rams of Fordham at 7 p.m.

The Pirates, in their second season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., picked up their first win of the season on Tuesday, squeaking past Winthrop 45-44 in the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. on the second day of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. Junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) led the Pirates with 12 points, while junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Rams picked up its first win of the season on 69-51 victory over Sacred Heart on Monday. The win snaps Fordham's 22-game losing streak dating back to last season. Four Rams scored in double figures, including a game-high 17 points from Brenton Butler. Branden Frazier and Chris Gaston each added 12 points. Gaston also added a team-high 17 rebounds for his 21st career double-double.

The Pirates are 1-0 all-time against Fordham, having defeated the Rams 78-54 on Jan. 3 of last season at the HU Convocation Center.

The Rams were picked to finish last in the A-10 this season, coming off a 2009-10 season that saw them go 2-26 overall and 0-16 in conference play. Fordham closed out the season on a 21-game losing streak, and the team comes into the 2010-11 campaign with a new head coach in Tom Pecora, the long time coach at Hofstra.

Gaston, the 2009-10 A-10 Rookie of the Year, highlights the returners for Fordham this season. A Preseason A-10 Second Team selection, Gaston averaged 18.0 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, both team highs, and he recorded 50 blocked shots. Gaston recorded 19 double-doubles last season, and he has two double-doubles to open the 2010-11 season for the Rams. So far this season, Gaston is averaging 16.5 points per game, second on the team, while leading the Rams with 17 rebounds per contest.

Butler leads Fordham in scoring so far this season, pouring in 17.0 points per game. Frazier (11.5 ppg) and junior guard Alberto Estwick (10.0 ppg) are also averaging in double figures for the Rams through two games.

Dating back to the 2009-10 season, the Pirates have won six of their last eight games, including Tuesday night's 45-44 win over Winthrop. Hampton won five straight at the end of last season before falling to Morgan State in the MEAC Tournament semifinals, a streak that included a 95-81 win over Longwood, a 90-42 dismantling of Howard and a 73-70 win over archrival Norfolk State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament.

Fordham closed the 2009-10 season with 21 straight losses, extending that streak to 22 with a season-opening loss to Brown. But the Rams defeated Sacred Heart 69-51 on Monday to snap that streak. Fordham will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

So far this season, the Pirates are 0-1 on the road following Monday night's 63-56 loss at Wake Forest. Second-year head coach Edward Joyner Jr. is 6-10 on the road in his career as a head coach.

Live stats for Friday's contest between Hampton and Fordham will be available through the Rams athletic website at www.fordhamsports.com. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.