Norfolk State 95, Florida A&M 67
NORFOLK, Va. – NSU had one of its best shooting nights as a Division I program, and the Norfolk State men’s basketball team cruised to a 95-67 win over Florida A&M on Monday evening at Joseph Echols Hall.
A 60-percent shooting night gave the Spartans plenty of highlights in a game televised live on ESPNU. They stayed perfect in MEAC play at 6-0 and moved one game closer to .500 overall at 10-11.
It was just the 13th time since the program moved to D-I in 1997 that NSU shot at least 60 percent in a game, and the first time doing so in five years. The Spartans got balanced scoring for the evening, as just three players scored in double figures despite a season-high for points against a D-I team.
They led by as much as 34, threatening the program’s 35-point record for the largest margin of victory in a MEAC game. Jermaine Bishop led the way, tallying 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, 4-of-6 from deep.
Florida A&M fell to 6-13 overall, 4-4 in the league.
The game starting off as a back and forth affair, at least for the first seven minutes of the contest. But the Spartans turned the corner from there. Buckets by junior Devante Carter, senior Steven Whitley and sophomore Joe Bryant Jr. started an initial 11-0 run, and it eventually stretched to a 21-4 spurt that lasted almost seven minutes. Whitley finished it with a bucket and two free throws, the latter with 5:37 to go in the half.
That made it 32-15 in favor of the Spartans. After the Rattlers got a few points back, NSU scored the last six points for a 42-23 lead at the break. The Spartans made 58 percent for the first half, holding FAMU to 32 percent shooting.
Coppin State 82, Howard 75
BALTIMORE — Koby Thomas had a career-high 24 points as Coppin State defeated Howard 82-75 on Monday night.
Thomas made 10 of 12 shots.
Brendan Medley-Bacon had 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Coppin State (6-16, 2-5 Mid-Eastern Conference). Ibn Williams added 14 points. Andrew Robinson had 12 points.
Wayne Bristol Jr. scored a season-high 28 points for the Bison (2-20, 0-7), whose losing streak reached 10 games. Khalil Robinson added 15 points and six assists. Nate Garvey had 13 points.
Coppin State faces Delaware State on the road on Saturday. Howard faces Morgan State at home on Saturday.
Bethune-Cookman 78, South Carolina State 74
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Joe French and Isaiah Bailey combined to score Bethune-Cookman’s final 12 points as the Wildcats pulled away for a 78-74 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference road victory at South Carolina State Monday night.
After Cletrell Pope gave the Wildcats (10-11 overall, 4-3 MEAC) a 66-65 lead, French connected on consecutive three-pointers to give BCU a 72-65 advantage with two minutes left.
Bailey added a field goal and was 4-4 from the line to help the Wildcats keep the Bulldogs (9-10, 4-3 MEAC) at bay and snap a two-game losing streak.
Bailey finished with a game-high 17 points, while French and Pope had 15 points each for the Wildcats, who led 37-25 at halftime. French was 6-6 from the floor.
North Carolina A&T State 82, Delaware State 67
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kameron Langley had a triple-double with 15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina A&T to an 82-67 win over Delaware State on Monday night.
Fred Cleveland Jr. had 16 points for NC A&T (10-12, 6-1 Mid-Eastern Conference), which earned its fifth consecutive home victory. Ronald Jackson added 16 points and 17 rebounds. Andre Jackson had 10 points and six rebounds.
NC A&T posted a season-high 61 total rebounds.
Omari Peek-Green scored a season-high 21 points and had 12 rebounds for the Hornets (2-17, 1-4). Johquin Wiley added 11 points. John Crosby had six rebounds.
The Aggies improve to 2-0 against the Hornets this season. NC A&T defeated Delaware State 98-77 on Jan. 13.
Morgan State 56, Maryland Eastern Shore 50
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – David Syfax had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench and Malik Miller came up just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to help the Bears rally past Maryland Eastern Shore 56-50 for the Bears’ second straight victory.
Eastern Shore has lost five in a row.
Troy Baxter added four blocked shots, four rebounds and two assists for Morgan State (11-12, 5-3 MEAC), which overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half.
Freshman Baltimore product Da’Shawn Phillip (Dunbar HS) led all scorers with 14 points on 6 for 8 shooting with three steals, two assists and a pair of blocks for Eastern Shore (2-19, 1-5 MEAC). Walter Prevost had eight points, while Bryan Urrutia added eight rebounds and five points.
The Bears were down 23-15 at halftime before extending their defense and forcing turnovers in the second half.
The Bears were down 25-15 after Phillip scored on a jumper to open the second-half scoring. Morgan State responded with an 11-0 run over the next four-plus minutes to take the momentum.
Malik Miller scored on a putback to trim the Hawks’ lead to 25-19 with 17:50 left – it marked the Bears’ first 2-point basket of the game. David Syfax completed a 3-point play to give the Bears its first lead of the night at 26-25 with 15:26 left.
The Hawks found themselves in a 5-minute drought – starting the second half connecting on just 1 for 6 field goals.
Courtesy: MEAC
