Game Notes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will close out the regular season at Burr Gymnasium on Thursday, as the Pirates take on Howard at 8 p.m.

The Pirates (20-8, 10-5 MEAC), in their second season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., got back into the win column on Saturday with a 71-64 win over Delaware State at Memorial Hall. Junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) led the Pirates with 23 points, while junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 13 points and senior forward Charles Funches (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

Howard (6-22, 4-11 MEAC), under the direction of former Pirates head coach Kevin Nickelberry, lost its second straight game on Saturday, falling 73-63 at Maryland Eastern Shore. Sophomore guard Anton Dickerson led the Bison with 25 points, while sophomore forward Mike Phillips added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Since moving up to Division I in 1995, the Pirates are 26-5 all-time against Howard, including a 67-55 win in the Big Apple Classic earlier this season on Dec. 4 in Madison Square Garden. The two teams split last year's meetings; Howard won the Big Apple Classic 56-54, before the Pirates closed out the regular season with a 90-42 thumping of the Bison at the HU Convocation Center. The Pirates have won 16 of the last 19 meetings against Howard, and the Pirates are 9-2 against the Bison on the road.

By beating Bethune-Cookman 68-56 on Jan. 22, the Pirates eclipsed their win total from last season; with a 71-64 win over Delaware State on Saturday, the Pirates reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2001-02, when the Pirates went 26-7, won the MEAC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The Bison were picked to finish ninth in the MEAC this season, while junior guard Calvin Thompson was named Preseason Second Team All-MEAC. Thompson led the Bison in scoring (12.0 ppg) last season and was second in rebounding (5.1 rpg). Howard went 7-25 overall last season and 6-10 in MEAC play.

Phillips leads Howard in scoring and rebounding, pouring in 13.0 points a game and pulling down 6.9 rebounds per contest. Sophomore forward Dadrian Collins is pouring in 11.3 points a night, while Dickerson is scoring 11.1 points per game. Thompson is averaging 10.0 points per game.

The Bison are scoring 58.1 points per game, while giving up 69.5 points a contest.

The Pirates are 7-5 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), Coppin State (67-59), Bethune-Cookman (68-56), Norfolk State (86-72) and Delaware State (71-64) on the road. For his head coaching career, Pirates coach Edward Joyner Jr. is 12-13 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.