BALTIMORE, Md. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will look to continue its winning ways on Monday, as the Pirates square off against preseason favorite Morgan State at the Hill Field House at 8 p.m.

The Pirates (12-3, 2-0 MEAC), in their second season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., have five of their last six games after beating Coppin State 67-59 on Saturday at the Physical Education Complex. Junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) led two Pirates in double figures with 17 points on 5-for-12 shooting, making four of his seven 3-pointers. Junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 15 points.

The Bears (6-7, 2-0 MEAC) opened the bulk of its conference slate on Saturday with a 75-62 win over Howard at the Hill Field House. Junior guard Aric Brooks scored a team-high 17 points, while junior forward Kevin Thompson added 15 points and a team-high 15 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Sophomore forward DeWayne Jackson scored 11 points and junior forward Ameer Ali added 11.

Hampton is 19-9 against Morgan State since moving up to Division I in 1995. Morgan State swept last season's meetings, beating the Pirates 73-63 at the HU Convocation Center on Jan. 11, 2010, before winning in the MEAC Tournament semifinals on March 12, 2010 74-67. Hampton won the first three meetings against the Bears, and the Pirates would go on to win nine straight against Morgan State from 1999-2003. The Pirates are 7-4 all-time against Morgan State on the road.

The Pirates are among the nation's best teams on the defensive side of the ball. Coming into Saturday's game against Coppin State, the Pirates are 15th among all NCAA Division I teams in scoring defense, giving up just 58.6 points a contest, while Hampton is 17th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37.7 percent shooting on the season. Hampton is also 32nd in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to make just 29.3 percent of shots from behind the arc.

The Bears went 27-10 last season, winning the MEAC regular-season title with a 15-1 mark before winning the MEAC Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in the first round to West Virginia. Head coach Todd Bozeman returns two starters and five letterwinners from last year's squad, including Preseason Player of the Year Kevin Thompson, and for the third straight year, the Bears were picked to win the MEAC.

Sophomore forward DeWayne Jackson leads three Bears in double figures with 16.8 points per game, while junior forward Kevin Thompson is second in scoring with 12.5 points per contest to go along with a team-high 9.2 rebounds a night. Junior guard Aric Brooks is averaging 10.6 points per game.

Morgan State is averaging 68.4 points per game on offense, while the defense is giving up 74.2 points a night.

The Pirates are 4-2 in true road games so far this season, and had won three straight on the road following a season-opening loss at Wake Forest before falling 69-57 at San Francisco. Hampton has beaten Fordham (58-48), George Washington (62-51), High Point (70-64) and Coppin State (67-59) on the road. For his head coaching career, Pirates coach Edward Joyner Jr. is 10-11 on the road.

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.