Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will look for its second straight win on Wednesday, when the Pirates welcome the Flames of Liberty University to the HU Convocation Center at 7 p.m.

The Pirates (8-2), in their second season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., got back into the win column on Monday with a 78-67 win over Towson at the HU Convocation Center. Senior forward Charles Funches (Jersey City, N.J.) led the Pirates with a career-high 26 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, while junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 14 points, and junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) went 4-for-6 from 3-point range to score 12 points. Junior forward Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) scored a career-high 12 points, and senior guard Brandon Tunnell (Wilmington, Del.) dished out a career-high 11 assists.

The Flames (7-5) picked up their fifth win in the last six games with a 71-62 victory at William & Mary on Saturday. Sophomore guard Evan Gordon led Liberty with 19 points, while redshirt-junior guard John Brown recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Redshirt-junior guard David Minaya added 10 points for the Flames.

Since moving to Division I in 1995, Hampton is 1-1 all-time against Liberty. The Pirates won the first meeting between the two teams on Feb. 1, 1996, taking a 77-72 win on the road, before the Flames beat the Pirates 69-42 in Hampton, Va. on Dec. 16, 1996.

The Flames were picked to finish sixth in the Big South this season, coming off a 2009-10 campaign that saw Liberty go 15-16 in head coach Dale Layer's first season. Liberty finished tied for fifth in conference play with a 10-8 mark, and the Flames return three starters and seven letterwinners.

Gordon leads three Flames in double figures in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game, while Brown is averaging 12.3 points per contest, second on the team, and pulling down a team-best 10.6 rebounds a night. Minaya is averaging 10.4 points per game.

The Flames are scoring 66.2 points per game, while the defense is giving up 66.3 points a night.

The Pirates are 2-1 at the HU Convocation Center this season, having beaten Georgia State 60-56 in overtime, falling 55-53 to Delaware and beating Towson 78-67. The Pirates went 6-6 at home last season, winning their last three games at the Convocation Center.

Since moving to Division I in 1995, Hampton is 7-5 all-time against teams in the Big South. Hampton is 1-0 against Charleston Southern, 1-1 against Coastal Carolina, 1-0 against High Point, 1-1 against Liberty, 2-2 against Radford and 1-1 against Winthrop. The Pirates defeated Winthrop 45-44 on Nov. 18 in their second game of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off, before beating High Point on the road 70-64 on Nov. 28.

Live stats for Wednesday's game between Hampton and Liberty will be available through the Pirates' athletic website at www.hamptonpirates.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.