Game Notes

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday, when the Pirates take to the road looking to snap a two-game losing skid against Liberty at the Vines Center at 7 p.m.

The game will be televised live on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN); in the Hampton Roads area, MASN can be found on Cox Digital Cable channel 39. Visit MASNsports.com to find other channel locations.

The Pirates (4-6), in their third season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., lost their second straight game on Dec. 7, falling 74-72 at American despite 25 points from senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.). Sophomore center David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, while senior guards Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) and Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) each poured in 10 points.

The Flames (3-8) snapped a seven-game losing streak on Saturday with a 78-60 home win over Virginia Intermont. Junior forward Antwan Burrus led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Tavares Speaks added 17 points. Sophomore guard John Caleb Sanders added 15 points, and senior guard Jesse Sanders poured in 12 points to go along with a team-high 12 rebounds.

Liberty went 19-13 last season, finishing second in the Big South with a mark of 13-5. The Flames, under third-year head coach Dale Layer, return four starters and six letterwinners from last year's squad, and they were picked to finish fourth in the conference this season.

Five Flames are averaging in double figures so far this season, led by Speaks with 12.6 points a night – while redshirt-senior guard David Minaya is averaging 12.4 points a contest. Jesse Sanders is pouring in 12.0 points per game to go along with a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game, while his brother, John Caleb Sanders, is averaging 11.3 points a game. Burrus is averaging 10.0 points a game.

Liberty is averaging 70.0 points per night on offense, while giving up 74.7 points a game.

The Pirates are 2-1 against Liberty, including a 62-59 win last season at the HU Convocation Center. Prior to that, Liberty defeated Hampton 69-42 in Hampton, Va. on Dec. 16, 1996 – but the Pirates won the lone meeting between the two teams in Lynchburg, Va., winning 77-72 on Feb. 1, 1996.

Hampton is 9-5 all-time against teams from the Big South, including a 3-0 mark against such teams last season. The Pirates defeated Winthrop (45-44), High Point (70-64) and Liberty (62-59) last season. Hampton won its only other game against a Big South school earlier this season, beating High Point 68-64 on Nov. 29.

The Pirates are 1-0 against Charleston Southern; 1-1 against Coastal Carolina; 2-0 against High Point; 2-1 against Liberty; 2-2 against Radford and 1-1 against Winthrop.

The Pirates went 8-5 on the road last season, winning three of their last four regular-season road games in 2010-11 – including the last two at Delaware State (71-64) and at Howard (83-72). The Pirates dropped their 2011-12 road opener on Nov. 17, falling 72-51 at Richmond before losing 66-52 at Rutgers on Nov. 20 and 54-53 to Fordham on Dec. 5 and 74-72 to American on Dec. 7.

For his career as a head coach, Joyner is 14-18 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.