Big Games from NSU's Gaston, Taylor, Thomas Lead to 99-81 Win over CSU

BALTIMORE, Maryland  -- The trio of RaShid Gaston, D'Shon Taylor and Malik Thomas could not be stopped on Saturday afternoon, and the Norfolk State men's basketball team scored its most points all season in a 99-81 victory over Coppin State at the Physical Education Complex.
 
Even a nearly two-hour bus ride for NSU to go five miles from the hotel to the arena, delaying the start of the game, could not prevent the Spartans from coming out on fire. The Spartans shot 34-of-55 overall (61.8 percent) to snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 10-3 in conference play, 17-11 overall.
 
It marked the fifth game this year NSU has shot at least 60 percent from the field. The Spartans also set the Division I record with 26 assists.
 
Gaston tallied a career-high 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting with 10 rebounds. He also hit 8-of-9 from the free throw line to top his previous career best of 28 points. Taylor added 23 – the second most in his career – on 9-of-14 shooting with eight boards, three assists and two steals.
 
Thomas, meanwhile, tied his career high with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He scored all 21 in the second half, giving NSU three 20-point scorers in the same game for the first time since the 86-84 upset of Missouri in the NCAA tournament in 2012.
 
The victory kept NSU two games ahead for second place in the MEAC with just three games left in the regular season. The Spartans scored their most point in a regulation game against a Division I opponent since a 102-86 victory over UMES on Feb. 12, 2000.

The victory also clinched a winning season for NSU for the fourth straight season.
 
CSU stayed in the game thanks to a 12-of-31 effort from the 3-point line. NSU, not to be outdone, hit 9-of-16 from beyond the arc to break a four-game slump in long range shooting. The Spartans were also solid from the free throw line for the third straight game, hitting 22-of-25 (88.0 percent) against the Eagles, the seventh-best percentage in NSU's D-I history.
 
Coppin State dropped to 6-21 overall and 5-9 in conference play. Sterling Smith shot 9-of-17 overall, including 5-of-10 from 3-point land, for a career-high 28 points to pace CSU.
 
The Spartans also outscored the Eagles 44-26 in points in the paint and held a 36-24 edge on the glass.
 
CSU only led at the start of the game, but the Eagles did trail by just one early in the second half. After being held scoreless in the first half, though, Thomas picked up his play in the second half. He accounted for nine points during a 12-4 run that pushed NSU's lead to nine, 51-42, at the 16:31 mark. In less than three minutes, Thomas sank two more treys, and in between shoveled a pass to Taylor for the easy dunk, all to put the Spartans up by 14, 59-45.
 
Coppin State scored nine of the next 12 points in the game, and Smith twice cut the NSU advantage to six with less than 10 minutes left in the game.
 
Gaston's dunk pushed the lead back to double digits, 75-64, at the 6:48 mark. CSU, though, used a 10-2 run to get to within three, 77-74, with just 5:10 left. Smith drained a 3-pointer and Taariq Cephas hit a long two at the end of the spurt, getting the Eagles as close as they would get for the rest of the game.
 
NSU scored seven straight over the next minute and a half, part of a 12-2 run that essentially sealed the contest for the Spartans. They also scored 10 of the last 12 points of the game to finish with the 18-point margin of victory, the second-largest ever against CSU in 36 all-time meetings behind the 19-point win earlier in the year.
 
Junior Jeff Short scored 13 points to go with seven assists and five rebounds. He and Thomas both shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
 
Coppin State hit a pair of treys to grab an early 8-2 lead to start the game, but the Spartans answered with a 9-0 run. Short hit a 3-pointer in transition to finish that spurt and put the Spartans up by three. A little later, Taylor's thunderous alley-oop dunk had the entire hoop apparatus shaking and NSU holding a 17-13 edge.
 
Freshman Jordan Butler later found Taylor open for a trey to push the advantage to 10, 23-13, at the 10:39 mark. Smith converted a pair of treys for Coppin State, and Daquan Brickhouse sank another 3-pointer to cap an 11-4 run for the Eagles. CSU later scored seven straight to tie it up at 33-33 with a little more than three minutes to go in the half.
 
After a layup and pair of free throws by Gaston in the last minute, Brickhouse hit CSU's eighth 3-pointer of the half right before the buzzer to shrink NSU's lead to 39-36 at the break.
 
Taylor and Gaston combined for 32 points and 11 rebounds in the first stanza.
 
For the game, the Eagles hit 29-of-64 overall (45.3 percent).
 
NSU finished with 12 fouls, the second-fewest on the season.
 
NSU will host Delaware State on Monday at Joseph Echols Hall for Senior Day. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7 p.m.

Box Score

By Mike Bello, Asst. SID

COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION