Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will look to keep its momentum on Monday at the HU Convocation Center, as the Pirates square off against Bethune-Cookman at 8 p.m.

The Pirates (13-15, 10-4 MEAC), in their fourth season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., beat Florida A&M 77-68 on Saturday for their eighth win in the last 10 games. Junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) led four pirates in double figures with 18 points, while freshman guards Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) and Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) each added 16 points.

Hampton is tied for third in the MEAC with Savannah State; both teams have two games left.

The Wildcats (12-17, 7-7 MEAC) snapped a three-game winning streak on Saturday with a 62-61 loss to MEAC-leading Norfolk State, despite 16 points from senior guard Paul Scotland and 12 points each from junior forward Adrien Coleman and senior guard Kevin Dukes.

The Wildcats went 18-17 overall last season and 11-5 in the conference, before advancing all the way to the championship game of the MEAC Tournament and falling to conference champion Norfolk State. Bethune-Cookman is in its second season under head coach Gravelle Craig, and the Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the MEAC this season.

Coleman is the team's top scorer and rebounder so far this season, pouring in 17.8 points per game to go along with 7.1 rebounds per contest. Coleman leads the conference in scoring and is fifth in rebounding. Dukes is the only other Wildcat in double figures, averaging 10.4 points per game.

The Wildcats are averaging 66.4 points per game on offense, while giving up 67.1 points per night.

Since moving up to the Div. I level in 1995, the Pirates are 17-11 against Bethune-Cookman, including an 81-72 loss to the Wildcats in the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament. Bethune-Cookman has won the last three meetings between the two teams, but prior to that, the Pirates had won eight out of nine meetings.

Hampton is 7-5 against Bethune-Cookman at home.

Hampton is 209-123 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 10-4 in MEAC play and sits tied for third with Savannah State 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).

For his career as a head coach, Joyner is 26-18 at home, and the Pirates were 6-5 at home last season – beating William & Mary, High Point, Howard, South Carolina State, Morgan State and Maryland Eastern Shore, while losing to Savannah State, Norfolk State, Coppin State, Delaware State, and North Carolina
Central.

The Pirates have a 6-5 home mark 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.