Game Notes

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will tackle the last of five straight road games on Thursday, taking on Savannah State at 7 p.m. at Tiger Arena.

The Pirates (8-13, 5-3 MEAC), in their fourth season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., won their third straight game on Monday, rallying to beat Coppin State 59-53. Freshman guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) led the way with 14 points and five assists, while junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) added 10 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.

The Tigers (12-9, 6-1 MEAC) defeated Howard 52-42 for its seventh straight win on Saturday. Senior forward Rashad Hassan, the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points, while senior guard Preston Blackman added 11 points.

The Tigers went 21-12 last season, winning the MEAC regular-season crown in their first year in the conference with a mark of 14-2 – before falling in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament to Hampton. Savannah State, in its ninth season under head coach Horace Broadnax, is the preseason favorite to win the MEAC this season.

Hassan leads the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game to go along with 5.3 rebounds per contest. Blackman is averaging 12.2 points per game, while senior forward Arnold Lewis is averaging a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest.

The Tigers are averaging 55.2 points a game on offense, while giving up just 54.6 points a night.

Since moving up to the Div. I level in 1995, the Pirates are 3-1 against Savannah State – including a 59-46 upset win in the quarterfinals of last season's MEAC Tournament. The Tigers' lone win over Hampton also came last season, a 65-49 decision at the HU Convocation Center on Dec. 1, 2011.

Hampton is 1-0 all-time against the Tigers in Savannah, Ga., beating Savannah State 70-52 during the 2004-05 season.

Hampton is 204-122 all-time as a Div. I program (since 1995) against teams currently in the MEAC, including a 6-10 mark in the conference last season. So far this season, Hampton is 5-3 in MEAC play and sits fifth in the conference. The Pirates have faced every team currently in the MEAC at least once, including newcomers North Carolina Central and Savannah State.

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 1-13 on the road last season, with that lone win coming at Florida A&M, 74-59, on Feb. 25. For his career, head coach Ed Joyner is 19-34 on the road after Hampton's season-opening loss at William & Mary, a 68-58 loss at Richmond, a 75-67 loss at Ohio, a 61-60 loss at UNC Wilmington, a 73-64 loss at Radford, a 50-43 loss at Winthrop, and a 68-49 loss at USC Upstate.

Hampton's first road win of the season came on Jan. 12 in a 51-49 win over Howard, but the Pirates fell at Norfolk State 74-67 on Jan. 26 before beating South Carolina State 64-60 on Wednesday, beating Morgan State 64-62 at the buzzer on Saturday, and beating Coppin State 59-53 on Monday.

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.