Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will close out the regular season at the HU Convocation Center on Thursday night, taking on North Carolina Central at 7 p.m. to celebrate Senior Night.

The Pirates will bid farewell to eight seniors.

The Pirates (10-19, 6-9 MEAC), in their third season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., fell 74-64 at Bethune-Cookman on Monday at historic Moore Gymnaisum, despite 19 points from senior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.). Senior guard Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.) and senior forward Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Eagles (15-14, 9-6 MEAC) snapped a two-game skid on Monday with a 71-57 win at South Carolina State. Senior forward Dominique Sutton led NCCU with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard Jeremy Ingram added 19 points and junior guard Ray Willis chipped in 11 points.

NCCU went 15-15 last season in its final season as an independent, before moving to the MEAC this season. The Eagles, under third-year head coach LeVelle Moton, return three starters and nine letterwinners from last season, and they were picked to finish fifth in the MEAC this season.

Sutton leads three Eagles in double figures with 16.6 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest, while Willis is pouring in 15.1 points a contest.

The Eagles are averaging 71.9 points a night on offense, while giving up 64.6 points per game.

Since moving up to Div. I in 1995, the Pirates have never faced North Carolina Central.

Hampton is 197-118 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 20-12 at home, and the Pirates are 6-4 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, Coppin State on Jan. 28 and Delaware State on Feb. 20.

Hampton is 4-4 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.