Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will return to the HU Convocation Center for the first time in over a month on Saturday, taking on the rival Bison of Howard University at 6 p.m.

This will mark the first time former Pirates head coach Kevin Nickelberry, now the head coach at Howard, returns to the Convocation Center. The Pirates will also celebrate last season's MEAC Tournament championship with a banner-dropping ceremony before the game.

The Pirates (5-9, 1-1 MEAC), in their third season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., finished third in the Dr Pepper Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Dec. 30 with an 82-79 win over Longwood. Senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) led the way with a season-high 33 points on 10-for-21 shooting – including five 3-pointers – while junior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.) added 14 points and sophomore center David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) poured in 11 points.

Howard (4-12, 1-2 MEAC) dropped its third straight game on Wednesday, falling 83-77 to Coppin State. Senior guard Glen Andrews led the Bison with 25 points on 10-for-27 shooting to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, while freshman guard Simuel Frazier and junior forward Dadrian Collins each added 11 points.

The Pirates are 28-5 against Howard, and Hampton has won the last four meetings – and 16 of the last 18 overall. Hampton swept the season series last year, before winning this season's first meeting, 71-53, in the Big Apple Classic at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 4.

Howard last defeated Hampton in the 2009 Big Apple Classic, taking a 56-54 win. Hampton is 11-1 against Howard at home.

The Bison went 6-24 overall last season, including a 4-12 mark in MEAC play to finish last in the conference. Howard, in its second season under Nickelberry, returns three starters and five letterwinners from last year's squad, and Howard was picked to finish ninth in the MEAC this season.

Andrews is the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.0 points per game, while redshirt-junior guard Calvin Thompson is the only other Howard player in double figures with 10.9 points per contest. Junior forward Mike Phillips is the team's top rebounder, pulling down 6.7 boards a night.

Howard is scoring 60.9 points per game, while giving up 74.2 points a night.

Hampton is 192-110 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 16-10 at home, and the Pirates are 2-1 at home so far this season – beating William & Mary and High Point, before losing to Savannah State on Dec. 1.

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.