Game Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will be home for the last time in the 2015-16 season on Monday, squaring off against Delaware State to celebrate Senior Night at 7 p.m.
 
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Last Time Out: The Pirates (17-9, 12-2 MEAC) picked up their fourth straight win this past Saturday, defeating rival Howard 68-67 after Dionte Adams converted a 3-point play with four seconds left in regulation. Reginald Johnson, Jr. led three Pirates in double figures with 18 points – 14 of which came in the second half – while Lawrence Cooks added 14 points and Adams chipped in 12. Quinton Chievous grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
 
The Series: Hampton is 22-18 against Delaware State, despite losing two of the three meetings between the two teams last season. However, that one win came in the MEAC Tournament championship game, when the Pirates defeated the Hornets 82-61. In all, Hampton has won nine of the last 15 meetings between the two teams, including an 82-72 win over the Hornets in Dover, Del. earlier this season.
 
Pirates Against the MEAC: Hampton is 246-140 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 12-2 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 50-32 in home games after a 68-67 win over rival Howard this past Saturday. 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 Hornets: Delaware State (7-22, 5-9 MEAC), in its second full season under head coach Keith Walker, has lost back-to-back games after Saturday's 74-65 loss at Maryland Eastern Shore. Freshman guard Devin Morgan is the team's leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per game, while junior guard DeAnre Haywood is averaging 11.3 points a contest.
 
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 116-105, 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), Brian 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 13.0 points per contest, while Johnson is averaging 18.6 points per game and Chievous is pouring in 16.8 points per contest. Altogether, the trio accounts for 45.7 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 26 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 16.8 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 18 points on Saturday against Howard. Johnson has scored in double figures in 22 of his last 25 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 13.0 points per game, and he is right at 1,000 points 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.