Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will return home for the first time since Nov. 20 on Sunday, squaring off against Princeton at 3 p.m. in the HU Convocation Center.
 
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Last Time Out: The Pirates (5-6) snapped a three-game skid on Dec. 23 with a 75-64 win over Louisiana Monroe in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. Brian Darden and Quinton Chievous each had 19 points to lead the Pirates, while Chievous also grabbed a team high-tying eight rebounds. Reginald Johnson, Jr. chipped in 16 points, and Dionte Adams also had eight rebounds.
 
The Series: This will be the first meeting between Hampton and Princeton.
 
Pirates Against the Ivy League: The Pirates are 2-1 against schools currently in the Ivy League, having gone 1-0 against Harvard and 1-1 against Yale. Hampton has never faced Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, or Princeton.
 
Pirates at Home: The Pirates were 6-5 at home last season, and in their first six-plus seasons under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., the Pirates are 43-30 in home games after an 82-61 win over Appalachian State on Nov. 20. Hampton's best season at home under Joyner came in 2013-14, when the Pirates went 9-3 at the Convocation Center. Sunday's game against Princeton will be Hampton's first home game since that App State contest.
 
Scouting the Tigers: Princeton (7-4), in its fifth season under head coach Mitch Henderson, is coming off a 76-64 loss at No. 13 Miami on Tuesday. Overall, the Tigers have won three of their last five games, and junior forward Henry Caruso leads the team in scoring with 17.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest. Freshman guard Devin Cannady is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game. Princeton was picked to finish third in the Ivy League this season, picking up six first-place votes in the preseason poll.
 
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 Nov. 17, 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 104-102, 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), Darden (Second Team), and Jervon 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 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 Nov. 14, dropping a career-high 29 points and grabbing a career-best 23 rebounds at Winthrop. Dating back to last season, Chievous has six double-doubles in his last 12 games. Chievous leads the team in both scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (a MEAC-best 10.6 rpg).
 
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 Hampton's 61-48 win at American, and he dropped a career-high 35 points in a double-overtime win at Northern Arizona. Johnson is second on the team in scoring (16.2 ppg). Johnson has scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 games.
 
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 at Winthrop, and he scored a season-high 22 at Northern Arizona. Darden is third on the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game.
 
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. He had his first double-double of the season (11 points, 10 rebounds) against Appalachian State. He also had a career-high six blocks in that game. Pressley grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds at Northern Arizona, and his 5.4 boards per game are second on the team.
 
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.