Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. — Jason Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and visiting South Carolina State had four players score in double figures in a 76-66 win over Norfolk State on Saturday at Echols Hall.

The loss was the third in a row for the Spartans (8-16, 6-7MEAC), who shot just 33 percent from the floor. It was their third-worst shooting performance this season, and worst in a MEAC game.

The Spartans scored 11 of the first 13 points as SCSU went the first five minutes without a field goal. But the Bulldogs (13-12, 8-5) went on a 10-0 run to get back into the game.

NSU closed the first half on a 9-4 run to take a 33-29 halftime lead. NSU held SCSU to just 30 percent shooting in the opening period.

SCSU scored the first seven points out of the break and NSU never led again. The game's last tie came at 40-all after a three-point play by Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) with 13:23 remaining. But Johnson scored seven points in an 11-3 Bulldog run that gave SCSU control. The Spartans couldn't get within six the rest of the way.

Jason Flagler added 14 points and Jessie Burton and Carrio Bennett had 11 apiece for SCSU, which outrebounded the Spartans 48-32. Josh Jackson contributed eight points and 13 rebounds. The Bulldogs offset their 37 percent shooting from the floor by connecting on 90 percent (28-of-31) from the foul line.

Deloach led NSU with 26 points, six rebounds and five assists. Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) had his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Corey Lyons (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 11 points.

The Spartans host Winston-Salem State at 8 p.m. on Monday.