CANCUN, Mexico – The Hampton University men's basketball team will be in Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday, as they compete in the 2011 Triple Crown Cancun Challenge at the Moon Place Golf and Spa Resort.

The Pirates will open play on Tuesday against Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. EST, before taking on either Lipscomb at 1:30 p.m. or Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

Hampton (1-2), in its third season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., lost its second straight game on Sunday, a 66-52 defeat at Rutgers. Senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) led the Pirates with 21 points, while junior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.) added 12 points in the loss.

Sacred Heart (2-2) lost its second straight game on Saturday, falling 83-58 at Richmond despite a game-high 26 points from redshirt-junior guard Shane Gibson.

Lipscomb (1-3) has lost three straight games following a 78-70 loss to Illinois State on Saturday. Sophomore guard Robert Boyd led three Bison is double figures with 21 points to go along with six rebounds, while freshman guard Zavion Williams added 18 points.

SIU-Edwardsville (0-2) has lost two straight to open the season, including a 68-38 defeat at Illinois State on Thursday. Junior forward Mark Yelovich led the way with 18 points, the only Cougar to reach double figures.

The Pirates have never faced Sacred Heart, Lipscomb or SIU-Edwardsville.

The Pioneers were picked to finish eighth in the Northeast Conference this season, coming off a 6-12 performance in conference play last season. Sacred Heart has not advanced to the conference tournament in two years.

Gibson leads the Pioneers with 16.5 points per game, while junior forward Justin Swidowski is pouring in 12.2 points a night. Both players lead the team with 5.0 rebounds per contest.

Sacred Heart is averaging 69.2 points per game on offense, while giving up 71.8 points a night.

Lipscomb was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Sun this season, returning four players from a squad that went 17-13 last season. This year's Bisons also welcome seven newcomers and two players who redshirted last season.

Williams leads four Bisons in double figures with 15.5 points per game, while Boyd is chipping in 12.8 points a night to go along with a team-high 5.3 rebounds per contest. Freshman forward Malcolm Smith is also pulling down 5.3 rebounds a game, to go along with 10.0 points a night.

Lipscomb is averaging 75.2 points per game on offense, while giving up 71.0 points a night.

SIU-Edwardsville was picked to finish 11th in the Ohio Valley Conference this season, coming off a 2010-11 season in which the Cougars went 8-21 overall and 0-9 against OVC teams. The Cougars are eligible for the conference regular-season title in their first season in the OVC, but are ineligible for postseason play as they complete Division I certification.

Yelovich leads SIU-Edwardsville in scoring, pouring in 15.5 points per game. Senior guard Kevin Stineman is the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 6.5 boards per night, while junior forward Jerome Jones is second in rebounding with 6.0 per contest.

The Cougars are averaging only 42.0 points a game on offense, while giving up 67.0 points a night.

The Pirates' contest against Sacred Heart on Wednesday will mark just the fourth time Hampton has faced a team from the NEC; Hampton is 1-2 all-time against Monmouth – the two teams last met on Nov. 29, 2009, with the Pirates winning 59-56.

Hampton has never faced a team from the Atlantic Sun or Ohio Valley Conference.

The Pirates are 10-4 on neutral courts during the tenure of head coach Edward Joyner Jr. – including an 8-1 mark last season. The only neutral-court game Hampton lost last season was a season-ending 87-45 loss to top-seeded Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Pirates won two neutral-court games in the Preseason NIT, two more in the Hilltop Classic hosted by the University of San Francisco and three games in taking the MEAC Tournament crown.

For more information on the 2011 Triple Crown Cancun Challenge, visit www.cancunchallenge.net.

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.