Game Notes

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will hit the road for the first time this season, squaring off against Saint Peter's at the Yanitelli Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The Pirates (1-0) opened the season with a 77-69 win over William & Mary on Friday in the HU Convocation Center, as four Hampton players scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) led the way with 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting (4-for-5 from behind the arc).

Junior center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) added 17 points, while senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) added 11 points and seven assists.

The Pirates were picked to finish fourth in the MEAC this season in a poll voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Hampton tallied 456 points and earned a first-place vote. Hampton is in its fifth season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., and the Pirates return four starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad.

Defending regular-season champion Norfolk State was picked to repeat, with 14 first-place votes and 624 points. Morgan State, with five first-place votes, was picked to finish second, while North Carolina Central (four first-place votes) was picked to finish third.

Maxwell was named to the MEAC Preseason Second Team, coming off a 2012-13 season in which he ranked fourth in the conference in blocked shots and fifth in rebounding. Maxwell averaged 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season, recording eight double-doubles, and he averaged 2.5 blocks per contest.

The Peacocks, in their eighth season under head coach John Dunne, return six letterwinners and welcome eight newcomers to a squad that went 9-21 overall last season and 3-15 in the MAAC. Saint Peter's was picked to finish ninth in the MAAC this season, and junior guard Desi Washington was a Preseason Third Team All-MAAC selection, after leading the Peacocks last season with 14.6 points per game. He was also the team's top 3-point shooter (37.0 percent) and free throw shooter (88.0 percent).

The Peacocks opened their season on Saturday with an 87-80 loss to LIU-Brooklyn in the Barclays Center, despite a career-high 31 points and 14 rebounds from redshirt-junior forward Marvin Dominique. Freshman center Quadir Welton added 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Washington had 14 points.

The Pirates are 0-1 against Saint Peter's, having fallen to the Peacocks 66-59 last season in the HU Convocation Center. This will be Hampton's first trip to Jersey City, N.J.

Hampton is 2-11 against teams currently in the MAAC since joining the Div. I ranks in 1995. The Pirates are 0-4 against Iona; 0-2 against Manhattan; 1-2 against Monmouth; 0-1 against Niagara; 1-0 against Quinnipiac; 0-1 against Rider; and 0-1 against Saint Peter's.

The Pirates have never faced Canisius, Fairfield, Marist, or Siena.

The Pirates went 7-8 on the road last season, and they closed out the regular season by winning their last six road contests. During Joyner's career as a head coach, Hampton is 20-34 overall in true road games away from the Convocation Center.

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.