Hampton men, women confidently approach MEAC tournament

HAMPTON,  Virginia —  Ignore the scoreboard and play. That might be the best strategy for Hampton University's men and women to achieve their goal of cutting down the nets at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.

The HU women (25-5, 16-0 MEAC) blew through the last six weeks of the regular season on the way to being the first team to go unbeaten in conference play in six years.

The Pirates' men (14-16, 11-5 MEAC), on the other hand, walked a tightrope all season. That they made it to the opposite platform two of every three trips without falling in league play speaks to their improvement and reliance on intensity.

"It's all about mental focus," forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell said. "It's scary to watch us when we're locked in. When we're not locked in, we're not ourselves. Even to be on the same team, it's scary to watch us lock in, to see how focused we are and how great we play defense when we're locked in. But when we're not, we're not a good team at all. When we are, we're the best team in the MEAC."

Others may take issue, notably regular-season champ Norfolk State and No. 2 seed North Carolina Central, both of which defeated the Pirates in tight games. Perhaps Savannah State, which tied the Pirates for third place, but lost to them in overtime, thus elevating HU to the No. 3 seed and an all-important early bye.

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