Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will take on Delaware State in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Norfolk Scope Arena.

Hampton will be in search of its second MEAC Tournament title in three years.

The third-seeded Pirates (14-16), in their fourth season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., fell 68-64 to North Carolina Central in their regular season finale on Thursday. Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) and freshman guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) each led the way with 16 points, while Maxwell added nine rebounds.

Sophomore center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) added 15 points.

The sixth-seeded Hornets (14-17) beat Howard 73-61 in the first round of the MEAC Tournament on Tuesday. Junior guard Albert Thomas led four Hornets in double figures with 21 points, while senior forward Marques Oliver added 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Hornets went 13-17 overall this season, finishing sixth in the MEAC with a mark of 8-8. Delaware State is in its 13th season under head coach Greg Jackson, and the Hornets were picked to finish second in the MEAC this season.

Delaware State closed the regular season with four losses in its last five games.

Sophomore guard Tahj Tate, a Second Team All-MEAC selection, leads Delaware State in scoring in the regular season, averaging 12.6 points per game. He was the only Hornet in double figures this season. Oliver pulled down a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game, and he averaged 10.8 points per game in conference play.

The Hornets averaged just 59.4 points a game on offense during the regular season, while giving up 63.0 points per contest.

Since moving up to the Div. I level in 1995, the Pirates are 19-15 against Delaware State – and the Pirates swept the season series over the Hornets, winning 85-84 in overtime on Feb. 11 and 57-50 on Feb. 25. Hampton has won six of its last nine over Delaware State.

The Pirates are 2-1 against Delaware State on neutral courts.

Hampton is 210-124 all-time as a Div. I program (since 1995) against teams currently in the MEAC, including a 6-10 mark in the conference last season. So far this season, went 11-5 in MEAC play this season and earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Pirates have faced every team currently in the MEAC at least once, including newcomers North Carolina Central and Savannah State.

Since joining the MEAC in 1995, the Pirates have won two regular-season conference titles (2000-01, 2001-02) and four MEAC Tournament crowns (2001, 2002, 2006, 2011).

The Pirates were 5-3 on neutral courts last season, splitting a pair of games in Cancun, Mexico on Nov. 22-23 (beating SIU-Edwardsville 68-64 and falling 78-71 to Sacred Heart) and defeating arch-rival Howard 71-53 in the Big Apple Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Pirates also split a pair of games in the Dr. Pepper Classic on Dec. 29-30, falling 42-40 to Utah Valley before beating Longwood 82-79, before winning two of their three games in the MEAC Tournament.

Hampton lost its only neutral-court game of this season on Nov. 23, falling 56-51 to Wofford.

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.