NORFOLK, Va. – Pendarvis Williams scored a career-high 20 points to lead a season-high five Norfolk State players in double figures as the Spartans improved to 2-0 in MEAC play with an 82-67 win over South Carolina State on Monday night at Echols Hall.

Kyle O'Quinn added 18, Brandon Wheeless had a season-high 12, and Jamel Fuentes and Chris McEachin had 10 apiece for NSU (6-3, 2-0 MEAC). The Spartans are off to their first 2-0 MEAC start since 2007-08, and first 6-3 overall start since 1996-97, their last season in Division II.

The quartet of Williams, O'Quinn, Wheeless and Fuentes helped NSU pull away from a tight ballgame midway through the second half. Wheeless' fast-break layup gave the Spartans a 54-52 lead for good with 11:19 left in the game. Fuentes, meanwhile, scored all of his career-high 10 points in the final 12:20, and O'Quinn had 14 of his 18 after halftime as the Bulldogs were unable to keep up. The Spartans shot 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from the floor in the second half while SCSU hit only 39 percent (13-of-33).

The Spartans also had the hot hand to start the game, jumping out to an 11-2 lead just more than three minutes in. McEachin converted a traditional three-point play and canned a 3-pointer, and O'Quinn hit a pair of jumpers to stake NSU to a big early lead.

But foul trouble from NSU's aggressive defensive slowed the Spartans' tempo and allowed SCSU to get back into the game. Four Spartans ended the half with two fouls apiece, including O'Quinn, who sat the final 12 minutes of the stanza.

NSU also cooled off from the floor after its hot early start and shot just 31 percent (11-of-35) in the half. The Bulldogs didn't fare much better, but hit 11-of-17 from the free throw line compared to NSU's 5-of-13 to creep back into it. A jumper by guard Khalif Toombs with 12 seconds left in the half gave SCSU a 30-29 edge going into the intermission.

The Spartans started the second half like they did the first. This time it was Williams who ignited a run, scoring five points and assisting on buckets by O'Quinn and Rodney McCauley as NSU opened up a 40-32 lead.

Fouls continued to mount for both teams, and back-to-back three-point plays by Brandon Riley gave SCSU the lead at 50-48 with 13:17 remaining. But NSU's inside-outside attack proved too much for SCSU to combat down the stretch.

O'Quinn had his streak of seven straight double-doubles snapped, but he still grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and blocked four shots. Williams had six rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Fuentes also had four assists without committing a turnover. Wheeless grabbed six boards, all on the offensive end.
 
Riley had 20 points to lead SCSU, but was just 6-of-18 from the floor. Aaron Martin had 12 on 3-of-11 shooting for SCSU, which shot just 38 percent (22-of-58) for the game.

The Spartans hit the road for their next game, their first-ever contest against Virginia Tech. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. Sunday in Blacksburg.