HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will have its third straight home game on Saturday, squaring off against Coppin State at the HU Convocation Center at 6 p.m.

The Pirates (7-13, 3-4 MEAC), in their third season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., snapped their four-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 78-66 win over South Carolina State. Sophomore center David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) led the way with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while senior forward Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) added a career-high 13 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guards Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) and Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) each added 12 points.

The Eagles (9-11, 4-3 MEAC) fell 93-92 in overtime to North Carolina A&T on Monday, despite 30 points from senior guard Michael Harper and another 22 from senior guard Tony Gallo. Senior forward Akeem Ellis added 16 points, while senior forward Antonio Williams poured in 12 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds.

The Eagles went 16-14 last season, finishing tied for second in the MEAC with a record of 11-5 before falling to Norfolk State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament. Coppin State, under 26th-year head coach Ron “Fang' Mitchell, returns four starters and 10 letterwinners (including seven seniors) from last season, and the Eagles were picked to finish third in the MEAC this season.

Gallo is the team's leading scorer, pouring in 16.4 points per game, while Ellis is averaging 13.4 points a contest and Harper is adding 11.6 points a night. Williams, who had 21 rebounds when Coppin State faced Hampton on Jan. 14, is the team's top rebounder with 7.8 rebounds a contest.

Coppin State is scoring 72.1 points a night, while giving up 73.7 points a game.

Since moving up to Div. I in 1995, the Pirates are 14-14 against Coppin State. Hampton has won two of the last three meetings despite falling 83-66 on Jan. 14 in Baltimore, Md., but before that, the Eagles had won four straight against the Pirates. The teams first met on Jan. 11, 1997, with Coppin State winning 76-69; in fact, the Eagles won the first seven in the series, before Hampton won 61-60 on Jan. 8, 2001.

Hampton would win nine straight – and 14 out of 16 – against the Eagles. Hampton is 7-5 against Coppin State in Hampton, Va.

Hampton is 194-113 all-time as a Div. I program (since 1995) against teams currently in the MEAC, including an 11-5 mark in the conference last season. North Carolina Central, in its first year in the MEAC, is the only team currently in the conference that the Pirates have not faced since moving to Div. I.

Since joining the MEAC in 1995, the Pirates have won two regular-season conference titles (2000-01, 2001-02) and four MEAC Tournament crowns (2001, 2002, 2006, 2011).

The Pirates went 8-3 at the HU Convocation Center last season, despite losing their last two home games of the season. Starting with a 78-67 win over Towson on Dec. 20 of last season, the Pirates won seven straight home games – including five in a row against MEAC competition.

For his career as a head coach, Joyner is 18-10 at home, and the Pirates are 4-2 at home so far this season – beating William & Mary, High Point, Howard and South Carolina State, before losing to Savannah State on Dec. 1 and Norfolk State on Jan. 21.

Hampton is 2-2 at home in MEAC play this season.

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