Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will look to remain undefeated in conference play Saturday evening at the HU Convocation Center, as the Pirates take on Coppin State at 6 p.m.

The Pirates (8-8, 3-0 MEAC) beat Delaware State on the road 73-60 this past Saturday. Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led three Pirates in double figures with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting – while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Redshirt-freshman guard Lawrence Cooks (Charlotte, N.C.) came off the bench to add 13 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Ke'Ron Brown (Savannah, Ga.) scored 10 points, dished out a team-high five assists, and grabbed four rebounds.

The Pirates shot 52.7 percent from the floor – including a 70.4 percent clip (19-for-27) in the second half.

Maxwell leads the Pirates in scoring (14.2 points per game) and rebounding (6.5 rebounds per contest), and his 3.3 blocks per game are the best in the MEAC. He is sixth in the conference in rebounding and seventh in field goal percentage (53.0 percent).

Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game, and his 4.4 assists per contest are third-best in the MEAC. He is also third in the conference in assist-turnover ratio.

Coppin State (5-11, 2-1 MEAC) snapped a seven-game losing streak on Monday with a 75-69 win over South Carolina State, and the Eagles are 2-1 in conference play. Coppin State was picked to finish ninth in the conference this season, its 28th under head coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell.

Senior forward Michael Murray leads three Eagles in double figures, averaging 16.0 points per game – to go along with a team-high 5.8 rebounds per contest. Senior guard Andre Armstrong is averaging 11.7 points per game, and sophomore guard Sterling Smith is pouring in 10.6 points a contest.

Hampton is 15-16 against Coppin State, and Coppin State is one of just two teams in the MEAC against whom the Pirates are under .500 all-time (North Carolina Central is the other). The two teams split last season's meetings, with the Pirates winning 59-53 in Baltimore, Md. after falling 67-65 at home in overtime. The two teams have split the last six meetings overall, and Hampton is 7-7 against Coppin State all-time at home.

Hampton is 211-126 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. The Pirates are 3-0 in the MEAC this season, thanks to wins over Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman last month, as well as a 73-60 win at Delaware State this past Saturday.

The Pirates went 7-8 at the HU Convocation Center last season, even though they won three of their last five home contests. During Edward Joyner Jr.'s career as a head coach, Hampton is 32-23 overall in the Convocation Center, and the Pirates won their home debut on Nov. 9, defeating William & Mary 77-69, before falling 90-79 to Delaware on Nov. 17. The Pirates won their first conference home game of the season on Dec. 7, beating Florida A&M 72-62, before beating Bethune-Cookman 85-52 on Dec. 9.

Hampton also won its last two home games on Dec. 29 and Jan. 4, a double-overtime 101-95 victory over Winthrop and an 87-60 win over Radford.

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.