BALTIMORE, Maryland -- A late 17-point advantage dwindled down to single digits, but the Norfolk State men's basketball team was still too much for Coppin State in a 73-68 victory over the Eagles on Saturday afternoon at the Physical Education Complex.
The Spartans pulled away from CSU in the latter stages of the second half, pushing their lead to a game-high 17 with less than five minutes to go. The Eagles had a late response, hitting several 3-pointers and free throws to cut NSU's lead to as few as three points with less than 10 seconds left.
CSU, though, ran out of time in its comeback attempt, and the Spartans improved their record to 15-11 overall, 9-3 in the MEAC.
Three different players scored 15 points on the afternoon for NSU, which also connected on exactly 50 percent from the field. Senior scoring leaders Pendarvis Williams, Malcolm Hawkins and Brandon Goode each tallied 15 points for the Spartans, while Goode also completed the double-double with 11 boards.
Taariq Cephas led CSU (9-18, 6-8) with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, but the Eagles connected on just 20-of-55 overall (36.4 percent), including 10-of-30 from 3-point range.
NSU held a 41-23 edge on the boards and outscored the Eagles 26-10 in points in the paint. The Spartans hit 27-of-54 for the afternoon.
A 3-pointer from junior Kievyn Lila-St. Rose opened up the second half scoring and gave NSU its first double-digit lead of the day. CSU got to within four thanks to a 9-2 run, but the Eagles had just one field goal in more than 10 minutes of action as NSU began to pull away.
The Spartans began that stretch with a 13-3 run, but CSU's free throw shooting – the Eagles finished 18-of-21 for the game – kept them close enough to make its late run. Buckets by Goode and senior Marese Phelps twice put NSU up by 17, the latter at 64-47 with 4:45 left in the game.
A trey from Williams with three and a half minutes left was NSU's only basket within the last four minutes of the game. Cephas scored seven straight for the Eagles to get to within single digits. Andre Armstrong then hit a trey and a pair of free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game, and another 3-pointer from Michael Murray with nine seconds to go made it 71-68 in favor of NSU.
Hawkins, in his first game back after missing four straight, went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe late in the game to seal the win.
Sophomore RaShid Gaston nearly had a double-double with 12 points and nine boards for the Spartans.
Armstrong added 13 points for CSU, and Murray totaled nine points and seven boards. Sterling Smith also scored in double figures with 14. Coppin State also had just nine turnovers, compared to 17 for NSU, which led to a 24-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
In the first half, neither team had more than a four-point lead until Williams scored eight straight for NSU for a 28-21 lead with 6:45 to go before intermission. Goode followed by scoring the last seven points for the Spartans, who went into the half up 35-27.
The Spartans will take on Howard on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
Box Score
Mike Bello, Asst. SID
COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
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