Spartans Go Cold in loss to Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. – A cold shooting day doomed the Norfolk State men’s basketball team in a 63-50 loss to Georgia on Saturday afternoon at the Stegeman Coliseum.
NSU shot less than 30 percent against the Bulldogs despite having a fairly big edge on the offensive glass. NSU did keep the game close, getting to within four early in the second half and trailing by just seven with less than nine minutes to go.
Foul trouble, though, doomed the Spartans (9-7), as they finished with 26 on the day and had to watch several starters sit in the first half.
NSU had an 18-7 edge in offensive boards, leading to a 21-10 advantage in second chance points. Junior Jeff Short was the only player in double figures with 16 for the Spartans, who suffered their second straight loss after winning seven of the previous nine games.
J.J. Frazier led Georgia (9-3) with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He hit three 3-pointers in the second half when NSU was looking to make a comeback.
Norfolk State hit 19-of-65 (29.2 percent) for the game, compared to a 21-of-49 effort (42.9 percent) for the Bulldogs.
Each team tallied just eight turnovers in the contest, while the Bulldogs outscored the Spartans 15-0 in fastbreak points. Georgia committed just 12 fouls in the game – NSU had 26 – while shooting 14-of-21 from the foul line. The Spartans, on the other hand, made 5-of-8.
RaShid Gaston added nine points, six boards and two blocks, breaking a streak of 10 games in which he had grabbed 10 or more rebounds. D’Shon Taylor added eight points and seven boards, helping NSU finish with a 43-37 edge on the glass.
Jordan Butler had three blocks, as the teams combined for 15 in the game.
Charles Mann had 10 points, 10 boards and four assists for Georgia
NSU will head right back out on the road to take on Princeton on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Coppin State suffers setback at Akron
AKRON, Ohio – Four Coppin State men’s basketball players reached double figures during an 79-62 setback to the University of Akron in a non-conference men’s basketball game at Rhodes Arena Saturday night.
Junior Sterling Smith led Coppin State with 16 points, the seventh straight game he has reached double digits in scoring. Smith also added seven rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Arnold Fripp added 14 points and eight rebounds. Christian Kessee contributed 11 points for Coppin State (1-14 overall). Dallas Gary added nine points off the bench for CSU.
Senior guard Taariq Cephas enjoyed a career night. He recorded his second career-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds before fouling out. He also complemented his performance with eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals in 29 minutes.
Also, in the process of the game, Cephas moved into fourth place all-time in school history in assists. Cephas upped his career total to 363 to move past Allen Watson and Sidney Goodman.
For the second consecutive game, Coppin State had difficulties protecting the basketball, finishing with 22 turnovers, 11 above its season average. CSU has 48 turnovers in its last two games combined.
Coppin State closed to within 10 points on three different occasions in the second half. Another factor in the game was the distribution of scoring. Coppin State received scoring from five players while Akron had 11 different players score led by Isaiah Johnson’s 13 points. The Zips (9-4) also made 11 3-pointers.
Coppin State returns to action next Saturday when it visits Howard University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest at 4:00 p.m.
North Carolina A&T rolls past CSU Bakersfield
GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina A&T finally got a win over a Division I foe by making a season-high 35 free throws in an 83-70 win over CSU Bakersfield at Corbett Sports Center Saturday night.
Junior point guard Ahmad Abdullah replaced injured freshman point guard Austin Williams in the starting lineup and finished with a career night that saw him score 17 points and dish out five assists. Junior Arturs Bremers went 4-for-4 from 3-point range and finished with a career-high 18 points.
The Aggies Division I losing streak comes to an end at 15 games with their previous DI win coming against S.C. State on March 3, 2014. A&T got its Division I win over a CSU Bakersfield (4-11) team that defeated California of the PAC-12 on Dec. 28. The Aggies scored more than 80 points against a Division
North Carolina A&T (3-13) got its first Division I win and some confidence at the right time. Conference foes Savannah State and S.C. State will play at Corbett on Jan. 10 and 12 respectively. The Aggies picked up the win by knocking free throws. The Aggies made 30 of its 32 second half free throws and were 21-for-22 at the line in the final five minutes of the game.
The Runners were led by Dashawn Richmond who had a game-high 21 points on 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.
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