SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will hit the road for a two-game swing that begins Saturday afternoon, when the Pirates square off against the Tigers of Savannah State in Tiger Arena at 6 p.m.
 
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The Series: The Pirates are 7-2 against Savannah State after winning both of last season's meetings – including an 89-55 win in the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament. Hampton is 3-1 against the Tigers in Savannah, Ga., and Savannah State won the last meeting in Tiger Arena – a 68-66 decision during the 2014-15 season.
 
Pirates Against the MEAC: Since joining Div. I in 1995-96, the Pirates are 256-144 against schools currently in the MEAC, going 21-11 against Bethune-Cookman, 19-18 against Coppin State, 24-18 against Delaware State, 22-11 against Florida A&M, 37-5 against Howard, 27-7 against Maryland Eastern Shore, 29-14 against Morgan State, 23-22 against Norfolk State, 24-11 against North Carolina A&T, 1-5 against North Carolina Central, 7-2 against Savannah State, and 21-20 against South Carolina State. Hampton is the two-time defending MEAC champion, and the Pirates have won six MEAC Tournament crowns: 2001, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2016.
 
Pirates on the Road: In head coach Edward Joyner Jr.'s first seven-plus seasons at the helm, the Pirates are 44-68 on the road, including an 8-7 mark last season. Hampton has won at least eight road games in three of its first seven seasons under Joyner – and in all three of those seasons, the Pirates made the postseason (2011 and 2016 NCAA, 2015 CBI). Hampton's best road mark came in 2010-11, when the Pirates were 8-5 in true road games.
 
Scouting the Tigers: Savannah State (10-12, 7-2 MEAC), in its 12th season under head coach Horace Broadnax, has won six straight games after Monday's 87-82 win at Maryland Eastern Shore. Sophomore guard Dexter McClanahan leads three Tigers in double figures with 15.3 points per game, while also grabbing 5.5 rebounds a contest, while senior guard Troyce Manassa is averaging 15.0 points a contest. Freshman forward Robert Kelly, Jr. is averaging 10.6 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game. The Tigers have the MEAC's best offense, averaging 85.1 points per game.
 
Pirates Picked to Finish Third: Despite winning back-to-back MEAC titles, the Pirates were picked to finish third in the conference this season in a poll conducted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Hampton, which returns just one starter from last season, picked up two first-place votes and racked up 250 points in the poll. Howard was tabbed the preseason favorite, while South Carolina State – which fell to the Pirates in last season's MEAC Tournament championship game – was picked to finish second.
 
Cooks the Only One: Lawrence Cooks is the lone returning starter for the Pirates, and he comes into 2016-17 as the team's top returner in scoring (7.8 ppg), rebounding (3.7 rpg), assists (47), and steals (19). He is also the only player on this year's team that isn't a freshman, sophomore, or junior – though he does have two MEAC championship rings and NCAA Tournament appearances to his credit. Cooks dropped a career-high 22 points at Winthrop last season, a campaign in which he scored in double figures 11 times. Cooks had 10 points in Hampton's season opener against Rider, and he dropped a career-high 23 points against William & Mary. Cooks, who is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game, dropped 21 at Appalachian State.
 
Wilson-Fisher Looking for a Bigger Role: Charles Wilson-Fisher was a key role player in the Pirates' run through the MEAC Tournament in 2015, and he was a key reserve down low for the Pirates last season. 2016-17 could figure to be a breakout season for the Los Angeles native with the graduation of Jervon Pressley, and Wilson-Fisher will be looking to improve on his scoring and rebounding averages (2.7 and 2.5, respectively) this season. He tied his then-career high in points with 10 last season against Northern Arizona, and against Rider, he set a new career high in rebounds (15). Wilson-Fisher set new career highs in points (16) and blocks (four) against Savannah State, and he leads the team in rebounding with 5.4 boards a night.
 
Strong Start for Marrow: Twenty-one games into his collegiate career, freshman Jermaine Marrow leads the Pirates and ranks 10th in the MEAC in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. He opened his career with 13 points against Rider, before dropping 11 points on Nov. 17 in an overtime win over Chowan and then scoring 15 points at Kansas State and dropping 16 at Richmond. He dropped 25 points against Stony Brook and Savannah State, and a career-high 27 points against William & Mary, and Marrow has scored in double figures in 18 of his first 21 games. The Heritage High graduate from nearby Newport News, Va. was 4A East State Player of the Year last season, proving to be one of Virginia's best scorers – averaging over 25 points a game in 2015-16.
 
Astroth Making an Impact: AJ Astroth was key in Hampton's win over Chowan on Nov. 17 – not just because he poured in a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds in just his second game with the program, but because it was his layup in the closing moments that gave the Pirates the lead. Astroth is fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.7 points per game, and he grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds at East Carolina. His 5.2 boards a night are second on the team, and he recorded his first double-double of the season (16 points, 15 rebounds) at Gardner-Webb.
 
For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5757, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.