Box Score
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Darnell Porter scored a game-high 18 points and Brandon Riley chipped in with 14 as host South Carolina State handed Norfolk State to its second straight loss, 64-62, on Monday night at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
Kyle O'Quinn posted 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots for the Spartans (8-18, 6-7 MEAC), who have lost five of six.
SCSU (8-19, 4-10) led 63-59 after two Riley free throws with 10 seconds left. NSU freshman Pendarvis Williams hit a 3-pointer at the other end to cut the SCSU lead to 63-62 with eight seconds remaining. Bulldog guard Khalif Toombs then went 1-of-2 from the free throw line, but Brandon Wheeless missed a 3-pointer as time expired as the Bulldogs held on.
SCSU jumped out to a 12-point lead, 20-8, 10 minutes into the game. The Spartans clawed back and got within 31-28 at the break when Rob Hampton hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 40 seconds left in the half.
NSU started the second half with a 9-2 run, capped by a Tim Zephyr slam, to take a 35-31 lead. Neither team led by more than five points in the second half, which featured seven ties and six lead-changes. NSU took its last lead on a tip-in by O'Quinn with 3:07 remaining. But Riley scored on a layup to tie the game, then Porter hit a 3-pointer and made two free throws on consecutive possessions as SCSU used a 7-0 spurt to take a 58-53 edge. The Bulldogs would not trail again.
The Spartans held SCSU to 32 percent shooting from the floor, but NSU was done in on the glass and at the foul line. The Bulldogs held a 44-33 edge on the boards and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. SCSU outscored NSU 23-15 from the charity stripe, where the Spartans shot just 58 percent (15-of-26).
Chris McEachin scored 12 points and Williams had 11 for the Spartans, who shot 40 percent from the floor but just 33 percent (7-of-21) from 3-point range. Hampton and Aleek Pauline combined for 10 assists and seven steals.
Rio Pitt had a game-high 12 rebounds for SCSU. Presano Bell had nine boards to go with 11 points.
The Spartans close the regular-season with three straight home games, all against teams currently higher in the standings. The home stretch begins Saturday with a 6 p.m. contest against two-time defending MEAC champion Morgan State at Echols Hall.
