Game Notes

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will open up the 2013 Corpus Christi Challenge on Sunday afternoon, taking on Missouri State at 3:05 p.m. EST in the JQH Arena.

The Pirates (2-2) have lost two straight following Wednesday's 71-68 loss at Quinnipiac. Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the Pirates with 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while also grabbing five rebounds, four steals, and blocking three shots.

Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) added 13 points and a team-high five assists.

Missouri State (3-0) defeated Grambling State 97-67 on Wednesday, thanks to 17 points from sophomore guard Marcus Marshall and 14 points from senior forward Emmanuel Addo.

The Bears, in their third season under head coach Paul Lusk, return all five starters and nine letterwinners from a squad that went 11-22 overall last season and 7-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri State was picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, and Marshall was a Preseason Second Team All-MVC selection.

Marshall was the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2012-13, after breaking the Bears' freshman scoring record with 11.5 points per game. He is averaging a team-best 15.7 points per game so far this season, while Senior forward Jarmar Gulley is pouring in 13.0 points a night. Senior forward Keith Pickens is grabbing a team-best 7.5 rebounds a contest.

Saturday's match-up with the Bears will be the first of four games for the Pirates in the Corpus Christi Challenge; after Saturday, Hampton will head to Charlottesville, Va. to take on Virginia on Tuesday, before heading to Corpus Christi, Texas on Nov. 29-30. Hampton will take on Liberty on Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. EST, before taking on either Sam Houston State or Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 30.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Pirates and the Bears.

Hampton is 1-2 against teams currently in the Missouri Valley Conference since joining the Div. I ranks in 1995, going 0-1 against Bradley and 1-1 against Wichita State. The Pirates have never faced Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola (Chicago), Missouri State, Northern Iowa, or Southern Illinois.

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 Edward Joyner Jr.'s career as a head coach, Hampton is 21-35 overall in true road games away from the Convocation Center, and 1-1 in such contests 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.