Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will hold its home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. in the HU Convocation Center, playing host to Appalachian State.
 
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Last Time Out: The Pirates (1-1) picked up their first win of the season on Monday evening, defeating American 61-48 on the road. The win was the 100th in the career of head coach Edward Joyner Jr. Reginald Johnson led the Pirates with 19 points, while Jervon Pressley chipped in 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Quinton Chievous grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Series: Since moving up to Div. I in 1995, the Pirates are 0-1 against Appalachian State. The only previous meeting came last season, when the Pirates fell 82-74 to the Mountaineers in Boone, N.C.
 
Pirates Against the Sun Belt: Hampton is 2-2 against teams currently in the Sun Belt Conference. The Pirates are 0-1 against Arkansas Little Rock; 0-1 against Arkansas State; 1-0 against Georgia State; and 1-0 against Troy. The Pirates have never faced Texas State, Georgia Southern, South Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, or Louisiana-Arlington.
 
Pirates at Home: The Pirates were 6-5 at home last season, and in their first six seasons under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., the Pirates are 42-30 in home games. Hampton's best season at home under Joyner came in 2013-14, when the Pirates went 9-3 at the Convocation Center. Friday's game against Appalachian State will be the Pirates' 2015-16 home opener.
 
Scouting the Mountaineers: Appalachian State (1-1) is entering its second season under head coach Jim Fox, and the Mountaineers are coming off a 79-70 loss to Furman this past Tuesday. Appalachian State returns four starters from a team that went 12-17 and finished sixth in Sun Belt last season, while also welcoming 10 newcomers to the fold. Frank Eaves, the Mountaineers' leading scorer last season at 16.6 points per game, is back this season, but the team did lose its top rebounder from a year ago in Tommy Spagnolo.
 
Pirates Picked to Finish Second: The Pirates, coming off of last season's MEAC Tournament championship, were picked to finish second in the MEAC this season, picking up nine first-place votes in the preseason poll voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors. Defending MEAC champion North Carolina Central was picked to repeat as conference champions. The Eagles won the MEAC regular season title in 2014-15, while Hampton wound up sixth in the standings with an 8-8 mark in league play.
 
Joyner Reached 100: Entering his seventh season at the helm, Joyner was one win shy of 100 for his career. But when the Pirates defeated American on Tuesday night, he picked up the 100th win of his career as a head coach. The Pirates won 17 games under Joyner last season, and in his six-plus seasons in charge, Hampton has made three postseason appearances – including two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2015. At 100-97, Joyner is already Hampton's all-time winningest Div. I coach, having surpasses Steve Merfield last season.
 
Plenty of Familiar Faces: The Pirates come into 2015-16 off of their fifth-ever MEAC Tournament championship, and many of the players who helped Hampton make that run last season are back for more. There are 10 returners in total for the Pirates this season, led by Preseason All-MEAC honorees Chievous (First Team), Brian Darden (Second Team), and Pressley (Third Team) – as well as Dwight Meikle, who led the Pirates in both scoring and rebounding in 2014-15. Johnson, who was named to the MEAC's All-Tournament Team last season, also returns, as does post player Charles Wilson-Fisher – who contributed big minutes during the MEAC Tournament.
 
Chievous Making His Presence Felt: Chievous, the Tennessee transfer, made his presence felt for the Pirates last season, especially once the MEAC Tournament started. Chievous had three double-doubles in the last four games of the year, including both NCAA Tournament games. Before that, though, he turned in a bull-in-a-china-shop-esque 23-point, 12-rebound effort in the MEAC Tournament semifinals against Norfolk State. Chievous, who was second in rebounding and third in scoring on the team in 2014-15, was named Preseason First Team All-MEAC heading into the 2015-16 campaign. He opened the 2015-16 season in style on Saturday, dropping a career-high 29 points and grabbing a career-best 23 rebounds at Winthrop. Dating back to last season, Chievous has four double-doubles in his last six games.
 
Johnson Lit it Up: Johnson, a transfer from Miami (Ohio), was second on the team in scoring last season – despite not playing his first game until Dec. 17 at Illinois. He averaged almost 12 points a game last season, scoring in double figures 14 times in 26 games. His career high of 27 points came at NJIT last season, and Johnson added 21 points in the next game against UMES. Johnson dropped 20 points in the MEAC Tournament championship game against Delaware State, earning MEAC All-Tournament Team honors, and also had 15 points in Hampton's win over Manhattan in the NCAA Tournament's First Four. He poured in 19 points in Tuesday's 61-48 win at American.
 
Darden Looking for More: Darden was fifth on the team in scoring last season, just shy of averaging 10 points a contest (9.8). On top of being second in the MEAC in free throw percentage (.845), Darden was ninth in the conference in 3-pointers per game. The MEAC Tournament's top 3-point shooter had a career-high 23 points at Morgan State back on Feb. 16, going 6-for-7 from behind the arc, and he had 20 points in the championship game of the MEAC Tournament against Delaware State. Darden comes into 2015-16 as a Preseason Second Team All-MEAC selection, and he had 13 points this past Saturday at Winthrop.
 
Pressley Crashing the Glass: Pressley was third on the team in rebounding last season, averaging 4.8 boards per contest. He was also seventh in the MEAC in blocks (1.4 bpg). He also averaged 6.1 points per game, scoring in double figures four times. Against Manhattan in the NCAA Tournament's First Four, Pressley provided valuable minutes in pouring in eight points and grabbing four rebounds. His size and presence inside is one reason Pressley was a Preseason Third Team All-MEAC selection.
 
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.