NSU Comes Away with 66-60 Win Over Howard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Norfolk State erased an eight-point deficit early in the second half and then held off a late rally by Howard as the Spartan men's basketball team downed the Bison 66-60 on Monday night at Burr Gymnasium.

The Spartans trailed by eight at the intermission and then again early in the second half after the teams traded 3-pointers. Over the next eight and a half minutes, though, the Spartans limited the Bison to just one bucket during a 17-2 run that put NSU up by seven.

The Spartans led by as many as 11 with five and a half minutes to go, but Howard put up one last fight with an 11-2 run to get to within two with 2:32 on the clock. NSU scored the last four points of the game to hold on to the win, and more importantly move into sole possession of third place in the MEAC at 10-3 following Morgan State's loss on Monday night.



The victory, the fourth in the last five games for the Spartans, moved their overall record to 16-11 and guaranteed NSU a winning record for the season for the third year in a row.

NSU shot 21-of-47 for the game (44.7 percent) and also had a big edge in free throw attempts, hitting 19-of-31 compared to just a 6-of-12 effort from the Bison.

Senior Riley Maye finished one point short of his career high with 14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting off the bench. Seniors Anell Alexis and Pendarvis Williams added 13 and 12 points, respectively, while junior Kievyn Lila-St. Rose also scored in double figures with 10.

Alexis hit 6-of-6 from the free throw line, part of a 9-of-12 effort on the night, during that big second-half run for NSU, and Maye closed it out with a pair of free throws and a bucket for a 44-37 lead at 10:39. Marcel Boyd's 3-point play for Howard finally ended that drought, but just as the Bison got to within four, NSU scored 12 of the game's next 17 points.

Maye sank a 3-pointer to give NSU its largest advantage of the night at 11, 60-49, with 5:29 left in the game.

James Daniel scored 13 straight points to get the Bison to within two at 62-60 with 2:32 to go before Howard went cold the rest of the game.

Daniel finished with a game-high 20 points. Howard finished the night 23-of-58 (39.7 percent) from the floor, including 8-of-21 from beyond the arc.

The first half was marred by a nearly six-minute stretch when neither team scored. Howard's Solomon Mangham drained a shot from beyond the arc with 12:49 on the clock to finally kick-start the scoring.

The Bison held the lead for six minutes, jumping ahead by six at one point before NSU tied it up at 19-19 on a trey from Williams with 4:40 before the half. After a bucket from senior Brandon Goode gave NSU a two-point lead, the Bison closed out the first half on an 13-3 run to take a 32-24 lead into the break.

Goode ended the night just short of his third straight double-double with eight points and nine boards. He helped NSU finish with a 39-31 edge on the boards.

NSU will play its last road game of the year at Hampton on Saturday at the HU Convocation Center at 6 p.m.

Box Score

Mike Bello, Asst. SID
COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS