Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will return to the HU Convocation Center on Monday night, looking to get back into the win column as the Pirates take on Delaware State at 8 p.m.

The Pirates (9-17, 5-7 MEAC), in their third season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., fell 68-64 at Delaware on Saturday as part of the ESPN Sears BracketBusters. Senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) led the way with 18 points, while senior guard Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) added 15 points.

Sophomore center David Bruce (Linden, N.J.) had 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while senior guard Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 10 points.

The Hornets (12-12, 9-3 MEAC) had their eight-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 57-56 loss at Gardner-Webb as part of the ESPN Sears BracketBusters. Junior forward Marques Oliver led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Casey Walker added 12 points and freshman forward Tyshawn Bell scored 11 points.

The Hornets went 9-21 last season, finishing eighth in the MEAC with a mark of 5-11. Delaware State, under the direction of 12th-year head coach Greg Jackson, returns three starters and six letterwinners from last season, and the Hornets were picked to finish sixth in the MEAC this year.

Freshman guard Tahj Tate leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points per contest, while Walker is averaging 12.7 points per game and Oliver is third in scoring with 10.8 points a game – to go along with a team-high 7.1 rebounds per contest.

The Hornets are scoring 65.5 points per game, while giving up 64.4 points a night.

Since moving up to Div. I in 1995, the Pirates are 17-14 against Delaware State, having won three of the last four meetings – despite losing 77-69 in Dover, Del. on Feb. 6. In all, the Pirates have won four of the last six games against the Hornets. Prior to that, Delaware State had won four straight meetings and eight out of nine. Hampton is 9-5 against Delaware State at home.

Hampton is 196-116 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 20-11 at home, and the Pirates are 6-3 at home so far this season – beating William & Mary, High Point, Howard, South Carolina State, Morgan State and Maryland Eastern Shore, while losing to Savannah State on Dec. 1, Norfolk State on Jan. 21 and Coppin State on Jan. 28.

Hampton is 4-3 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.