Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will close out its homestand on Thursday, welcoming Northern Kentucky to the HU Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

The Pirates (2-7), in their fourth season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., beat American 72-65 at the HU Convocation Center on Tuesday, thanks to a career-high 22 points from senior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.) and a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds from redshirt-sophomore forward Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas).

Freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) added 17 points and a career-high 10 assists.

The Norse (0-6) are looking for their first win of the season after falling 75-69 to Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas on Dec. 4. Senior forward Eshaunte Jones led the way with 16 points, while freshman guard Tyler White added 14 points off the bench.

The Norse are in the process of becoming a Division I program, having accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Sun conference. During the four-year process of reclassification, Northern Kentucky will not be eligible for NCAA championships.

The Norse were 23-7 last season in their final year of Division II competition, going 13-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and advancing to the Midwest Region of the NCAA Div. II Tournament. Northern Kentucky, in its ninth season under head coach Dave Bezold, was picked to finish 10th in the Atlantic Sun this season.

Jones leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game so far this season. Senior guard Ethan Faulkner is the team's top rebounder, grabbing 5.3 boards per contest.

The Norse are averaging just 56.5 points a game on offense, while giving up 68.5 points a night.

This will be the first meeting between Hampton and Northern Kentucky.

This will be Hampton's first-ever match-up against a school currently in the Atlantic Sun Conference; the Pirates have never faced East Tennessee State, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, North Florida, Northern Kentucky, South Carolina Upstate, or Stetson. This is Northern Kentucky's first season in the Atlantic Sun, as the Norse transition into Div. I.

For his career as a head coach, Joyner is 22-14 at home, and the Pirates were 6-5 at home last season – beating William & Mary, High Point, Howard, South Carolina State, Morgan State and Maryland Eastern Shore, while losing to Savannah State, Norfolk State, Coppin State, Delaware State, and North Carolina Central.

Hampton defeated Howard 58-50 in its 2012-13 home debut, before falling 66-54 to Robert Morris on Dec. 8 and beating American 72-65 on Tuesday.

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.