Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will return home on Saturday, kicking off its final homestand of the season against the rival Bison from Howard, with the game tipping off at 6 p.m.
 
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Last Time Out: The Pirates (16-9, 11-2 MEAC) picked up their third straight win this past Monday with an 82-72 road win over Delaware State. Quinton Chievous recorded his 10th double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 21 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. Reginald Johnson, Jr. added 16 points, while Brian Darden had 11 points and five assists. Dionte Adams added 10 points and six boards.
 
The Series: Since moving up to Div. I in 1995, the Pirates are 36-5 against Howard – and Hampton has won each of the last 12 meetings between the two teams after a 68-65 win in Washington, D.C. back on Feb. 8. Over that span, Howard has not won consecutive games against the Pirates. Hampton is 15-1 against Howard at home.
 
Pirates Against the MEAC: Hampton is 245-140 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 8-8 in the MEAC last season, winding up sixth in the standings before winning four games in six days to take the MEAC Tournament championship. So far this season, Hampton is 11-2 in conference play. Since joining the MEAC in 1995, the Pirates have won two regular-season conference titles (2000-01, 2001-02) and five MEAC Tournament crowns (2001, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2015).
 
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 49-32 in home games after an 87-79 win over Morgan State back on Feb. 15. Hampton's best season at home under Joyner came in 2013-14, when the Pirates went 9-3 at the Convocation Center. Each of the Pirates' next four games will be at home.
 
Scouting the Bison: Howard (12-17, 6-8 MEAC), in its sixth season under head coach Kevin Nickelberry, has lost four of its last six games despite a 65-51 win over Florida A&M this past Wednesday. Junior guard James Daniel III leads the MEAC and the nation in scoring, averaging 27.4 points per game, and he is the Bison's all-time leading scorer. Junior center Marcel Boyd, on top of averaging 10.0 points per contest, is grabbing a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game. Junior swing man Damon Collins is averaging 10.1 points per game.
 
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 115-105, 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.
 
A Triple Threat: Prior to the game at North Carolina Central on Jan. 18, Hampton was one of just four Div. I programs in which three players are averaging at least 15 points per contest, joining St. Bonaventure, Eastern Washington, and Arkansas. Darden is now below that threshold, averaging 13.2 points per contest, while Johnson is averaging 18.6 points per game and Chievous is pouring in 17.2 points per contest. Altogether, the trio accounts for 46.3 points per contest.
 
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 13 double-doubles in his last 25 games (including 10 this season), and he had 21 points and 19 rebounds at Delaware State. Chievous leads the team in rebounding (a MEAC-best 11.1 per game) and is second on the team in scoring at 17.2 points a contest (which ranks fourth in the MEAC).
 
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 leads the team and ranks second in the MEAC in scoring (18.7 ppg) after pouring in 20 points against Morgan State on Feb. 15. Johnson has scored in double figures in 21 of his last 24 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 22 at Northern Arizona. Darden is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game, and he is seven points shy of 1,000 for his career.
 
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.