Game Notes

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The second of four straight road games will take the Hampton University men's basketball team to the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center on Monday, where the Pirates will take on South Carolina State at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Pirates (9-10, 4-2 MEAC) got back into the win column on Saturday, handing Savannah State its first conference loss with an 80-71 win in Tiger Arena. Senior forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led three Pirates in double figures with 21 points on 9-for-18 shooting, and he was one rebound shy of his third double-double of the season.
 
Sophomore guard Brian Darden (Hampton, Va.) added 17 points, and sophomore guard Breon Key (Hampton, Va.) came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points, going 8-for-11 from the free throw line (including four straight in the closing seconds).
 
South Carolina State (7-12, 3-3 MEAC) has won back-to-back games after a 73-61 win over MEAC preseason favorite Norfolk State on Saturday. The Bulldogs, in their first season under head coach Murray Garvin, were picked to finish 11th in the MEAC this season.
 
Senior forward Matthew Hezekiah leads the Bulldogs with 14.4 points per game, while senior guard Adama Adams is averaging 10.9 points a night. Sophomore forward Daryll Palmer is the team's top rebounder, pulling down 6.8 rebounds a contest.
 
Hampton is 19-17 all-time against South Carolina State, and the Pirates have won each of the last three meetings – including a 64-60 decision in Orangeburg, S.C. last season. Prior to the Pirates' current three-game winning streak in the series, SCSU won three straight against the Pirates – including two of three meetings during the 2008-09 season.
 
Hampton is 7-9 against South Carolina State on the road.
 
Hampton is 212-128 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 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 23-39 overall in true road games away from the Convocation Center after beating Saint Peter's 64-59 on Nov. 12, falling 71-68 at Quinnipiac on Nov. 20, falling 81-67 at Missouri State on Nov. 24, falling 69-40 at Virginia on Nov. 26, falling 69-67 at Northern Kentucky on Dec. 18, falling 74-61 at North Carolina Central on Jan. 7, defeating Delaware State 73-60 on Jan. 11, and beating Savannah State on Saturday.
 
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.