Chris Carlson: Thoughts on NSU schedule, no movement on offensive coordinator

NORFOLK, Virginia - A few extra notes after talking with Norfolk State head coach Pete Adrian about the schedule.

During the 2013 season, Norfolk State will have four non-conference games, facing Rutgers, Charleston Southern, Old Dominion and Virginia State. In 2014, the Spartans will play Virginia State, Buffalo, Liberty and Old Dominion

Adrian said he’s collected a significant number of resumes for the offensive coordinator position at Norfolk State and will start to pare down the list later this month. He declined to say whether any of his current coaches had applied, but he did state previously that he hoped to find someone with previous experience as a coordinator.

My personal belief is ...

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Norfolk State's road to repeat MEAC crown won't be easy

NORFOLK, Virginia - The road to a repeat will be more rugged than the path to Norfolk State's first MEAC championship.

The Spartans released their 2012 football schedule Wednesday, a slate that includes a bye week in the final week of the season, their toughest conference contests on the road and consecutive road games against FBS opponent Ohio and MEAC power South Carolina State.

"What do you mean harder? It's easier," coach Pete Adrian said jokingly.

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NSU Releases 2012 Football Schedule

(Photo: Mark W. Sutton Digital Photography)

NORFOLK, Virginia – Norfolk State University released its 2012 football schedule on Wednesday. Highlighting the slate are five home games, another road date with a Big South opponent, and a first-ever game with a team from the Mid-American Conference.

For the second straight year, NSU will play 11 straight games without a bye week before having off the final week of the FCS regular season on Nov. 17. The Spartans navigated that stretch well in 2011, finishing 9-3, winning their first-ever MEAC football title and making their initial FCS playoff appearance.

The Spartans open the season on Sept. 1 against Virginia State in the Virginia Lottery Labor Day Classic at Dick Price Stadium. Kickoff will be 6 p.m. for 50th all-time meeting between the long-time rivals.

The following week, the Spartans travel west across the state of Virginia to meet 2011 Big South Conference runner-up Liberty University. The teams will be meeting for the fifth time in their history and first since 2005, when NSU defeated the Flames 34-17 at Dick Price Stadium. Liberty, which won the first three games between the schools, will return to Dick Price Stadium in 2014. Last season, NSU won 33-3 at another Big South foe, Charleston Southern.

“Playing Liberty will be a challenge for our team, especially facing them in Lynchburg,” said NSU head coach Pete Adrian. “They are always one of the top teams in their conference and we know that will be a competitive game.”

NSU opens MEAC play the following Saturday, Sept. 15, at home against Howard. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. Following their MEAC opener, the Spartans play their final non-conference game of the year at MAC power Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, on Sept. 22. This marks NSU’s fifth-ever game against an FBS team and third year in a row playing a team from the highest subdivision. The Bobcats were MAC runners-up and finished 10-4 last season, including a win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

“We are excited to continue our streak of playing FBS teams,” said Adrian, who is a native of Brilliant, Ohio. “Ohio had a great year in 2011 and will serve as another stern challenge for our team.”

NSU’s final seven games of the season are against MEAC teams, beginning on Sept. 29 at South Carolina State. Delaware State visits NSU for a 1 p.m. game on Oct. 6 before the Spartans hit the road for consecutive games at Hampton, Bethune-Cookman and North Carolina A&T. The schedule is reversed from last season, when NSU played three straight home games in October.

“It certainly won’t be easy facing those three schools on the road in consecutive weeks, but I think our team will be up for the challenge,” Adrian said.

NSU closes the season with two straight home games – against Savannah State on the Spartans’ homecoming on Nov. 3, and against Morgan State for Senior Day on Nov. 10.

2012 NSU Football Schedule (.pdf)

Date Opponent Location Time/Result Details

9/1/2012 Virginia State (Virginia Lottery Labor Day Classic) Norfolk, Va. 6 p.m.

9/8/2012 Liberty Lynchburg, Va. TBA

9/15/2012 * Howard Norfolk, Va. 4 p.m.

9/22/2012 Ohio Athens, Ohio TBA

9/29/2012 * South Carolina State Orangeburg, S.C. TBA 

10/6/2012 * Delaware State Norfolk, Va. 1 p.m. 

10/13/2012 * Hampton (Battle of the Bay) Hampton, Va. TBA 

10/20/2012 * Bethune-Cookman Daytona Beach, Fla. TBA 

10/27/2012 * North Carolina A&T Greensboro, N.C. TBA 

11/3/2012 * Savannah State (Homecoming) Norfolk, Va. 2 p.m. 

11/10/2012 * Morgan State (Senior Day) Norfolk, Va. 1 p.m. 

By Matt Michalec, Sports Information Director
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In the end, Norfolk State faced a killer foe: Itself

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Chris Walley never saw it coming. Neither did Norfolk State. The end of the Spartans' season was sealed on their first possession of the second half.  Trailing by 14, Norfolk State moved to the ODU 24. The Spartans found a mix of runs and passes that had been elusive. Walley, the quarterback, found his groove. The Monarchs helped out with a roughing-the-passer penalty.

Walley recognized Old Dominion's defense, and audibled accordingly. As he went up and down the line to deliver the call, center Michael Kay didn't realize the quarterback had moved. He snapped the ball while Walley's eyes were focused downfield.

The first-down snap rolled 22 yards into the backfield, where running back Randy Maynes fell on it. A blocked field goal followed, then an ODU touchdown and - after another half of football - the end of Norfolk State's best Division I season.

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Photos | Old Dominion takes on Norfolk State at Foreman Field


Several on ODU and NSU football teams are old friends

NORFOLK, VA -- Norfolk State and Old Dominion are meeting for the first time. Marcus Cooperwood and Reid Evans aren't.  After meeting at a high school all-star game five years ago, Norfolk State's Cooperwood, a cornerback from Bethel, and ODU's Evans, a receiver from Phoebus, met often at a small field in front of a church near Darling Stadium.

They ran routes against and have continued working out together ever since.
This year, they brought their teammates along. No. 10 ODU and No. 19 NSU, first-round opponents in the FCS playoffs, spent the summer in 7-on-7 competition, focused on improving each other and moving impromptu games between the two campuses.

"Obviously, we didn't see this happening," Cooperwood said of Saturday's game. "Me and Reid work out in the summer and do one-on-ones to fine-tune our games. We brought it up to our teams and both guys were good with it. There ain't no drama between us. It's all mutual love."

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NSU report: Unsettled Spartans 'a work in progress'

NORFOLK, VA - Norfolk State can't prove how good it will be during its season opener against Virginia State. It may give glimpses of how bad things could get. If the Spartans trounce the Trojans, they'll be doing what's expected, just as they did last year during a 6-5 campaign. Struggles, though, would be a bad omen.

"It's like when we go play a bigger school," NSU head coach Pete Adrian said. "Do you expect to win? Sure. You have more scholarships. But they can still beat you."



Rutgers felt the same way when NSU visited New Jersey for last year's season opener. The Scarlet Knights won 31-0, but more telling was an offensive line that surrendered three sacks against an inferior opponent. Rutgers went on to allow an NCAA-record 61 sacks and finished a disappointing 4-8.

Norfolk State enters this season with major questions on each of its lines, so while the scoreboard might not be worth watching today - NSU has won the past five games against its Division IIrival by an average of 24.4 points - the line of scrimmage should be.

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WVU to take on Norfolk State in second game of 2011 season

Morgantown, WV -- When West Virginia takes on Norfolk State on Sept. 10 in Milan Puskar Stadium, it will likely be the Mountaineers' least important game of the season. It could be Norfolk State's biggest game, though. The Spartans have one game against a higher-division foe, and that's West Virginia.

The Mountaineers won't start with a lower-division opponent for the first time since the 2007 season, when they faced Western Michigan (The Mountaineers haven't faced a team from an automatic qualifier conference since 2005, when they faced Syracuse).

The biggest question isn't whether WVU will overlook Norfolk State when the two teams get together. The question will be, however, if the Mountaineers do overlook the Spartans, will it matter?

Norfolk State went 6-5 last year ...


Videographer: nsuathletics; Big East 2010 Game: NSU at. Rutgers Highlights.

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Bethune-Cookman wins 2011 MEAC baseball crown

B-CU earns 2nd 6-peat in 13 years

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- As he has done for the last two seasons, Bethune-Cookman catcher Peter O'Brien helped lead the Wildcats to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title. O'Brien went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs Saturday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, as beat B-CU beat Norfolk State 9-3 to claim a school record-tying sixth straight MEAC championship.

However, if the 'Cats are to make it seven straight next year, they'll probably have to do it without their star catcher. "It could be the last one for me, so it's a big moment," said O'Brien, a junior expected to be selected in the first or second round of next month's Major League Baseball Draft.

"But this is only a small step in what we want to do this year. We want to go get in a regional, win a regional, (win a) super regional and get to (the College World Series in) Omaha. That's the goal for this year."

Bethune-Cookman wins 2011 MEAC baseball crown

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman University won the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Championship title with a 9-3 victory over the Norfolk State Spartans at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.

The championship crown was the sixth consecutive and 13th overall for the Wildcats. Bethune-Cookman extended it win streak to 46 against conference opponents including tournament play. John Rasberry got the Spartans on the board first with a solo home run in the top of the first. Matt Wright and Alejandro Sanchez countered for the Wildcats to take the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame.

NSU falls to Bethune-Cookman

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Peter O'Brien went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs to lead Bethune-Cookman to its sixth straight MEAC baseball championship with a 9-3 victory over Norfolk State on Saturday at Jackie Robinson Park.

O'Brien earned MEAC tournament Most Outstanding Performer honors, helping the Wildcats (35-22) secure the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division I tournament next month. John Rasberry went 2 for 5 with a double and a solo homer for NSU (24-29).



Videographer: nsuathletics; NSU Senior Day

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Garner pitches B-CU into final

Coach Mervyl Melendez

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Scott Garner scattered eight hits in seven innings as Bethune-Cookman beat Norfolk State 8-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament Friday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The freshman from Port Orange, named MEAC Pitcher and Rookie of The Year earlier this week, helped the Wildcats (34-22) advance to the championship game against Norfolk State, which beat Delaware State 9-3. If B-CU loses at 2 p.m. today, it would play a second game at 6 p.m.

Norfolk State (23-28) scored 25 runs in its first two tournament games, but was shut down by Garner and one scoreless inning by Jordan Dailey and Chris Anselmo.

"We wanted Scott for this game," B-CU coach Mervyl Melendez said. "He's done a good job all season, and he's earned the right to pitch in an important game. Garner (8-2) escaped a bases-loaded situation in the third, and Norfolk State left 14 runners on base.

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NSU to play for MEAC baseball title today

NSU Coach Claudell Clark

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Freshman Justin Bhatti tossed a four-hitter and senior outfielder John Rasberry (Greenbrier Christian) drove in a season-high four runs to send No. 4 seed Norfolk State to today's MEAC baseball tournament championship round with a 9-3 win over No. 2 Delaware State in the losers' bracket final on Friday night.

NSU (24-28) will face top-seeded Bethune-Cookman at 2 p.m. The Wildcats topped the Spartans 8-0 earlier Friday. NSU must beat Bethune-Cookman twice today to capture its first MEAC baseball title. The Spartans will be making their fifth MEAC championship-round appearance, and first since 2008.

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2011 MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament

Please click each hyperlink below to read each article on subject MEAC baseball game.

Wed, May 18 BSB Delaware State Maryland Eastern Shore at Daytona Beach, Fla. 10 a.m. 5 - 0

Wed, May 18 Bethune-Cookman Florida A&M . 2 p.m. 18 - 5

Wed, May 18 BSB Norfolk State North Carolina A&T 6 p.m. 14 - 4

Thu, May 19  Maryland Eastern Shore Florida A&M 10 a.m. 11 - 6

Thu, May 19  Delaware State   Norfolk State 2 p.m. 1 - 11

Thu, May 19  North Carolina A&T Maryland Eastern Shore 6 p.m. 11 - 1

Fri, May 20 North Carolina A&T Delaware State at Daytona Beach, Fla. 10 a.m.

Fri, May 20 Bethune-Cookman Norfolk State at Daytona Beach, Fla. 2 p.m.

Bold: Winners

Norfolk State takes MEAC track titles

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Norfolk State's men's and women's track and field team's won the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.

The Norfolk State women tallied 140 points to win their first MEAC Outdoor title, second overall, since 2001. The championship also marks the first time that both men's and women's programs won an outdoor title during the same year since 2001.

Defending champion Hampton finished second with 139 points while North Carolina A&T finished third with 124 points. S.C. State was fourth with 73 points.

Spartan Women Win 1st MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Title Since 2001

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Six event victories Saturday propelled the Spartan women’s track & field team to its first MEAC outdoor championship since 2001 at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T.

The Spartan women edged Hampton by one point, giving NSU a sweep of the men’s and women’s outdoor titles – the first time since 2001 a MEAC team has accomplished the feat. That year, it was also the Spartans who achieved that accomplishment.

Coach Ronda Berard was named the MEAC Outdoor Most Outstanding Coach for leading the Spartans to victory.

Final Results

Spartan Men Clinch 6th Straight MEAC Track Sweep

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Norfolk State men’s track & field team breezed to its sixth straight MEAC outdoor championship to pull off a sixth straight indoor-outdoor sweep on Saturday at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T.

The Spartans tallied 162 points and scored in 15 of the weekend’s 19 events to top second-place Maryland Eastern Shore by 25 points. NSU men's coach Kenneth Giles was named the MEAC Outdoor Most Outstanding Coach.

The Spartans posted two first-place finishes on Saturday. Sean Holston clocked his best time ever in the 400 meters, running a 46.00 to win the gold medal. Aramis Massenburg followed up his PR in Friday’s 110 hurdle semis with another strong effort in the final, running a 13.89 to take the gold medal in that event.

Final Results

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NSU softball runs streak to nine games

Junior Whitney Holland (King’s Fork) had two three-RBI games as Norfolk State swept three straight softball games against MEAC rival North Carolina A&T Saturday and Sunday in Norfolk. The Lady Spartans (19-23, 6-6) won 1-0, 12-1 and 9-0 to go to a nine-game winning streak.

Holland, NSU’s third baseman a fifth-place hitter, hit a three-run home run, her third homer of the season, and had another game with two hits and three RBI in the series, taking her RBI total to 25. The Lady Spartans are building toward the MEAC Conference Tournament May 12-14 in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Wright, Schulle Named MEAC Player, Rookie of the Week

NORFOLK, Va. – Junior Danielle Wright and freshman Jamie Schulle of the Norfolk State softball team earned a pair of weekly honors on Monday afternoon, as the duo was named the MEAC Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, by the conference office.

Wright batted .500 for the week (12-of-24) and added 12 runs, one double, two home runs and eight RBI to lead NSU to a 7-0 record last week. The center fielder out of Safety Harbor, Fla., also stole seven bases as the Spartans swept UMES and Hampton in a pair of mid-week doubleheaders before taking all three games against North Carolina A&T over the weekend. NSU ran its win streak to nine games and improved to 19-23 overall on the season, 6-6 in the MEAC.

In the last two games of the series against the Aggies, Wright hit 5-for-9 with five runs, five RBI and two home runs. In addition to ranking seventh in the league in hitting this season, Wright also ranks in the top 6 in runs, hits, home runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage and steals. NSU’s primary leadoff hitter currently leads the team with 37 runs, 49 hits, eight home runs, 29 RBI, a .598 slugging percentage, a .432 on-base percentage and 24 steals in addition to ranking second with a .371 average.

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O'Quinn, Aspiras named NSU Spartans' top athletes

Kyle O'Quinn, a junior basketball player from Jamaica, N.Y., and Thea Aspiras, a freshman bowler from Great Bridge High, were named Norfolk State's male and female Athletes of the Year at the school's athletic banquet Monday night.

O'Quinn became NSU's first MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and was named first team all-conference after ranking fourth in the nation in blocked shots (3.4 per game) and fifth in the country in rebounds (11.1 per game).

Aspiras was named the MEAC bowling Rookie of the Year, a first for NSU. She also became NSU's first first-team all-conference bowler, and is NSU's first bowling All-American after she was named to the National Tenpins Coaches Association (NTCA) second team. She averaged 197.5 per game this year, including a high game of 277.


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NSU Men's and Women's Tennis Highlights vs. Delaware

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Tides find success with NSU in exhibition match

NORFOLK, VA - Sammy Serafine is a second baseman and recruiter. Raymond Morton is a pitcher and salesman. Baseball scouts seek out five-tool players, but Norfolk State coach Claudell Clark sometimes sees six or seven.

"It's no secret," Clark said, "We want local players to help us gain local exposure to help us get more local players and more fans."

The Spartans lost 1-0 to the Norfolk Tides in a seven-inning exhibition game Tuesday - a Tides pitcher threw three innings for NSU to limit the strain to the pitching staff - but for the second straight year, Norfolk State delivered a sizeable crowd to the Tides as the Triple-A team opened its home for the season.

The Tides had often played exhibition games against Old Dominion, but their first against Norfolk State drew 8,509 last season. In the game's second year, on a chilly Tuesday, the crowd totaled 8,804.



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Five keys for NSU football team this season

The way Norfolk State's football schedule has worked out the past three years, the team has built hope heading into the next season thanks to late runs against the bottom of the MEAC.

The Spartans are looking to show the strides made under new offensive coordinator Joe Blackwell are legit - and not the product of inferior competition - and that they're ready to join the upper level of the conference.

Doing that will require the team to answer five questions as Norfolk State heads into the start of spring practice today.

Who will the new hogs be?

Spartans begin Spring Practice Today

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk State’s 2011 spring football practice is scheduled to get underway Friday with a late afternoon session at the NSU practice field.

The Spartans are slated to spread their 15 practices over a three-week period. There will not be a typical spring football game, but rather several smaller intrasquad scrimmages throughout spring practice.

NSU is scheduled to return 14 starters off of last fall’s 6-5 team which became the first team in the program’s Division I history to record back-to-back winning seasons. Included among the returnees are quarterback Chris Walley, who completed an NSU single-season record 61.1 percent of his passes last year; and the top five tacklers off the Division I Football Championship Subdivision’s No. 6 defense, led by linebacker Corwin Hammond (76 tackles, 11 TFL) and nose guard Josh Turner (46 tackles, 12 TFL).

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NSU Athletics Announces Launch of Online Spartans Store

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State University Athletics Department is proud to announce the launch of its online store for Spartans' apparel and merchandise.

NSU has entered into a partnership with TeamFanShop to provide the online store. The web address is shop.nsuspartans.com and can be accessed by typing it into any web browser, or by following the links at www.nsuspartans.com.

The site has more than 200 products available for purchase with plans to add even more in the near future. Fans can purchase a variety of T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, auto accessories and more in a variety of sizes and styles. All orders will include a $6.95 flat shipping fee.

Founded in 1995, TeamFanShop is the leading provider of outsourced e-commerce solutions to colleges, conferences, professional sports teams and sports media properties. Their partners include the NCAA, Yahoo! Sports, the Jacksonville Jaguars and universities such as Florida, Auburn, Oklahoma, Oregon and many more.

By Matt Michalec, Sports Information Director

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Spartans Add 2 More Football Recruits for 2011
102 Student-Athletes Make Athletic Director's Honor Roll

MEAC: Hampton proves too much for Norfolk State

Hampton Coach Edward Joyner Jr.
(Photo courtesy of HU Pirates Athletics)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Norfolk State's up-and-down season suffered its final downer Friday night as the Spartans fell 85-61 to a Hampton Pirates team that has looked like the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's premier team for much of the season.

The Pirates (23-8) can prove it once and for all today when they meet Morgan State (17-13) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the MEAC's championship game (2 p.m., ESPN2 ). The winner earns the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

Hampton came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed, victim of a three-game losing streak late in February that let Bethune-Cookman slip into the driver's seat in the regular-season race. But with Bethune-Cookman falling 61-48 earlier Friday to Morgan State, the Pirates became the highest remaining seed.

PIRATES RUN PAST SPARTANS INTO MEAC FINAL

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Hampton University men’s basketball team advanced to the championship game of the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament on Friday with an 85-61 win over Norfolk State in the semifinals at the Joel Coliseum.

The No. 2 seeded Pirates (23-8) have won four in a row overall and four straight over the Spartans. It was Hampton’s largest win over Norfolk State since the Pirates beat the Spartans 85-57 on Dec. 8, 2001.

Hampton will take on No. 4 Morgan State, which defeated top seed Bethune-Cookman 61-48 on Friday, in the championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.

The Pirates will be looking for their first MEAC Tournament title, and automatic NCAA Tournament berth, since 2006 – when Hampton defeated Delaware State 60-56.

Junior guard Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) led the Pirates with 30 points on 9-for-20 shooting, making four of his nine 3-pointers and all eight of his free throws. Junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) added 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals.

Junior forward Danny Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with nine points. Senior guard Brandon Tunnell (Wilmington, Del.), on top of his team-high five assists, scored eight points.

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Doyle Leads Howard To Win Over Norfolk State

Winston-Salem, NC -- Saadia Doyle scored a game-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures and help Howard University defeat Norfolk State, 68-56 in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's tournament at the Lawrence V. Joel Coliseum.

The 2011 MEAC Player of the Year, Doyle got the Lady Bison (14-17) off to a fast start, scoring 13 of her points in the first half as Howard jumped out to an early lead and hold a 40-24 advantage at the half. A 5-11 sophomore forward from Atlanta, GA, Doyle connected on 5 of 7 from the field.

"When you have the MEAC Player of the Year, a lot of teams gear their defense towards her her," said Howard Coach Niki Reid Geckeler. "She's had to come out and play against double and triple teams all season. So her fast start was huge. It set the tone for us and opened up things for the other players."

The Lady Bison, the Number 6 seed, got a nice boost from sophomore guard Adele Walton, who provided some perimeter shooting with 10 points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field and sophomore forward Kara Smith.

"Adele is a shooter and in the first half, she loosened up things for us offensively with her outside shooting," said Coach Geckeler. "Kara gave us something also with her scoring and her rebounding. We are hopeful that they can continue to play like this the rest of the tournament."

The Lady Spartans (9-19), the Number 11 seed, were not able to stay with Howard, mostly due to their mistakes which the Lady Bison converted into scored 16 points.

Riding the scoring of sophomore guard Tamoria Holmes, the Lady Bison increased their lead to 20 in the first minute of the second half and appeared to have the game in hand.

But the Lady Spartans rallied on the scoring freshman of Rachel Gordon, junior Whitney Long and freshman Rae Corbo to reduce the lead to eight at the four-minute mark. Norfolk State's comeback attempt was fueled by the absence of Lady Bison sophomore point guard Cheyenne Curley Payne, who was forced to the bench when she picked up her fourth foul.

"We had to go man-to-man because we got a little too deep," explained Norfolk State Coach Debra Clark. "When we started making the run, we picked them up fullcourt and that generated offense for us."

But Doyle converted four free throws, Curley Payne got inside the lane for a tough basket and Holmes made an acrobatic shot with the shot clock winding down to help Howard advance to Thursday's quarterfinal round against North Carolina A&T on Thursday at 12 noon.

Doyle just missed a double double with 23 points and nine rebounds while Holmes and Curley Payne each tallied 13 and Walton contributed 10, all coming in the first half. Curley Payne also tied her career-high of eight assists.

Norfolk State was led by Corbo, who finished with a team-high 14, Gordon with 12 and Whitney Long with 10 off the bench, all coming in the second half.

Howard and North Carolina A&T split during the regular season, each winning at home.

"I think that any game this time of the season is competitive," said Geckeler. "We talk about March and it's one and done. We are coming into this game to play Howard basketball and see what happens."

By Howard University Media Relations

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O'Quinn's double-double sparks NSU's upset of Morgan

NORFOLK - Norfolk State has become the enigma of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Behind a 23-point, 18-rebound effort from center Kyle O'Quinn, the Spartans beat defending MEAC champion Morgan State 69-63 Saturday night at Echols Hall.

The Bears (15-11, 10-4) had rolled into Echols Hall tied for first in the MEAC in the loss column with Bethune-Cookman. But for the second time this season, they walked off the court victims of O'Quinn and a Norfolk State team that's hard to figure. Norfolk State had lost five of its previous six, but was far and away the best team on the court Saturday.

And O'Quinn was far and away the best player.



Norfolk State Upsets Lady Bears, 66-65

NORFOLK, Va. - On a day which Norfolk State honored all of its past championship teams on Alumni Day, and held its ring ceremony for its 2009-10 women's and men's cross country, indoor and outdoor championship teams, the Spartans women's basketball team played like champions as well this afternoon.

Rae Corbo scored a team-high 20 points, including four three-pointers and Rachel Gordon grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with her nine points to lead Norfolk State to a 66-65 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory over visiting Morgan State on Saturday afternoon at Echols Hall.



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NSU Men Win 6th MEAC Indoor Track Title in a Row

Final Results

LANDOVER, Md. – The Norfolk State men’s track team won its sixth straight MEAC indoor track & field title on Saturday at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex, breaking its own meet record with 200 points.

Combined with their streak of five straight MEAC outdoor championships, the Spartan men have now won the last 11 MEAC track championships that have been contested. They easily topped the 2010 team’s previous meet record of 188 points.

Junior Josef Tessema was named the MEAC Men’s Most Outstanding Runner. He earned victories Saturday in the mile and 3,000 meters to add to his wins Friday in the 5,000 and as part of the distance medley relay team. He had a hand in 32.5 points during the weekend, more than three entire men’s teams.

Spartan head coach Kenneth Giles was named the MEAC Men’s Most Outstanding Coach for the 11th time in his tenure as NSU track coach.



Videographer: running1maryland

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