HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will look for its third straight win on Saturday, when it returns to the HU Convocation Center to take on the Hornets of Delaware State at 6 p.m.

The Pirates (10-17, 6-8 MEAC) have won back-to-back games after crashing the boards in a 70-61 win at Florida A&M on Monday night. Hampton held a 40-25 advantage on the boards, and senior Vincent Simpson (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the team with 16 points and Charles Funches (Bayonne, N.J.) added 13. Senior forward Michael Freeman (Alexandria, Va.) recorded his 11th double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. The Hornets (15-10, 10-4 MEAC) picked up their fourth win in five games on Monday, upending Coppin State 59-43 in Memorial Hall.

Since joining the MEAC in 1995, the Pirates are 14-13 against Delaware State, including the Hornets' 58-56 win at Memorial Hall earlier this season. The two split a pair of meetings last season. After Delaware State escaped the HU Convocation Center with a 49-39 win on Feb. 7, 2009, the Pirates answered with a 51-32 win in the first round of the MEAC Tournament. The Hornets have won five of the last six meetings between the two teams. Hampton fell in the first-ever meeting against Delaware State, 77-68 in the 1996-97 season, before winning 11 in a row against the Hornets. The Pirates are 7-4 against Delaware State at the HU Convocation Center.

The Hornets went 8-24 last season, finishing 10th in the MEAC with a 6-10 record before falling to Hampton 51-32 in the opening round of the MEAC Tournament. Returning three starters and seven letterwinners, Delaware State was picked to finish ninth in the MEAC this season.

Senior guard Marcus Neal leads the team in scoring and sits sixth in the MEAC, averaging 13.6 points per game. Redshirt-senior forward Frisco Sandidge is averaging 12.3 points per contest, while he also leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 a night.

The Hornets are averaging 58.9 points per game on offense, which is last in the MEAC, while they give up a MEAC-best 58.6 points per contest. Delaware State is being out-rebounded by an average of 31.7-28.2 per game.

The Pirates are 3-6 at the HU Convocation Center so far this season, picking up their first home win on Jan. 3 with a 78-54 win over Fordham. Hampton is 2-4 at home in MEAC play, falling 69-67 to Coppin State on Jan. 9, before beating Morgan State 73-63 on Jan. 11 on ESPNU to give interim coach Edward Joyner Jr. his first conference home win. The Pirates are 7-4 at home against Delaware State.

Live stats for Saturday's game between Hampton and Delaware State are available through the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com. Pirates basketball games can be heard live on WHOV 88.1 FM, with Rod Pinkney and Shemar Woods calling all the action.

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.