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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Senior Corey Lyons (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 17 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to give No. 3 seed Norfolk State a 74-71 win over No. 2 South Carolina State on Friday night in the MEAC Tournament semifinals at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The win puts the Spartans (13-17) into the MEAC championship game for the first time in program history. The Spartans play top seed Morgan State at 7 p.m. Saturday night, and the game will be televised live on ESPNU.

NSU rallied from an 11-point early second-half deficit thanks to its pressure defense. The Spartans forced SCSU (17-14) into 21 turnovers, 13 of them in the second half, to slowly climb back into it. Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) was one catalyst, scoring 14 of his game-high 20 points after the break.

Deloach, however, fouled out with 2:24 left, and SCSU maintained a 66-63 lead with 1:50 left.

But NSU went on a 5-0 run, getting baskets from Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) and Kevin Worsley (Chesapeake, Va.) to take a 68-66 lead with 54 seconds left. The Bulldogs responded when Jimmy Williams converted a traditional three-point play for a 69-68 Bulldogs' lead with 50 seconds left.

On the next possession, NSU worked the ball around and cleared out for Lyons, who drove right and drained a high-arching trey with the shot-clock winding down. That put the Spartans up 71-69. Lyons then stole a SCSU pass, the Bulldogs' 20th and final turnover of the night. He hit one free throw, and after Jessie Burton hit two, Lyons hit two more to keep NSU ahead 74-71 with six seconds left.

SCSU had one more chance, but Jessie Burton missed a rushed 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.

Josh Jackson led four Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points. Williams had 16, Carrio Bennett 14 and Jason Flagler 10.

Deloach and Lyons were the only Spartans in double figures, but the NSU bench tallied 25 points. Kyle O'Quinn (Jamaica, N.Y.) had eight, all in the first half, while James Williams (Miramar, Fla.) had seven and Worsley six. NSU shot 51 percent from the floor, including 61.5 percent accuracy (16-of-26) after halftime.

Saturday's championship game can also be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM.