Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - The Spartans (9-19, 7-8 MEAC) close out the 2010-11 regular season and bid farewell to three seniors on Thursday as the Spartans host North Carolina A&T (15-15, 9-6). Tip-off is at 8 p.m. at Echols Hall.
It will be the final home game in the careers of seniors Aleek Pauline, Rob Hampton and Tim Zephyr. Those three will try to go out on a winning note and send the Spartans into the MEAC Tournament with some momentum. NSU has lost six of eight after a 76-69 loss to Coppin State on Monday.
The Aggies have won three in a row and five of six after beating Morgan State 68-60 on Monday night.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Radio: WNSB 91.1 FM (Play-by-Play: Chris Park; Color: Ross Gordon)
Live Audio Stream: http://mmedia.nsu.edu:8089/wnsb
Live Statistics: www.sidearmstats.com/nsu/baseball
Live Video: www.nsuspartans.com/showcase
SERIES NOTES
The all-time series between NSU and A&T is tied at 19-all. The Aggies won 89-81 in overtime on Dec. 4 in Greensboro in the previous meeting this season. The teams have split their season series in three straight years.
LAST MEETING
In the two teams' last meeting, Marc Hill scored a game-high 29 points, including six in overtime, to lead host North Carolina A&T to an 89-81 overtime win over Norfolk State in the MEAC opener for both teams on Dec. 4 at the Corbett Sports Center. Kyle O'Quinn led NSU with 27 points, 18 rebounds and three blocked shots.
There were nine ties and 11 lead-changes in the game, and neither team led by more than nine points. Despite shooting just 36 percent in the first half, NSU led 30-29 at the break thanks in part to scoring 13 points off 10 Aggie turnovers.
Hill hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Aggies a 43-36 lead early in the second half of the ebb-and-fl ow affair. The Spartans would later surge into the lead thanks in part to some key shots by Brandon Wheeless, who hit all four of his fi eld goals in the half. His 3-pointer gave NSU a six-point edge at 58-52, and moments later, Rob Hampton hit a trey of his own with eight minutes left to give NSU its largest lead, 61-54.
A&T tied the game as Thomas Coleman hit 1-of-2 free throws with 19 seconds left. O'Quinn had a chance to win the game in regulation, but was charged with a turnover after some contact near the rim in the waning seconds.
Coleman dunked after an Adrian Powell miss on the Aggies' first possession of overtime, and after an NSU miss at the other end, Hill gave A&T a 76-72 lead with a field goal of his own. The Spartans would get as close as one, 78-77, after a 3-pointer by Wheeless with 2:02 remaining. The Aggies hit 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the fi nal two minutes to preserve the win.
Hampton chipped in with 19 points, five rebounds and fi ve assists for NSU. Wheeless matched his career high by scoring 16 points.
For A&T, Coleman added 24 points and 14 rebounds, Austin Witter scored 12 points, and Nic Simpson 10.
COPPIN STATE TIP-INS
Some additional notes from NSU's loss to Coppin State on Monday:
• Kyle O'Quinn was limited to nine points and four rebounds. It was his lowest rebound total since he
had three at Ohio on Dec. 30.
• With the loss, the Spartans are assured of playing in the MEAC Tournament first round next week (more below). The Spartans had received first-round byes in each of the last three MEAC Tournaments.
• Brandon Wheeless led NSU with 16 points, matching his season high from the first A&T game on
Dec .4.
• The Spartans shot a season-high 30 3-pointers, making just seven (23 percent).
MEAC TOURNEY UPDATE
NSU will wind up either the sixth seed or the seventh seed in this year's MEAC Tournament. The Spartans will be No. 6 with either a win Thursday OR a loss by Florida A&M at Bethune-Cookman. The Spartans would be the seventh seed with a loss to A&T AND a FAMU win over B-CU.
KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
The Spartans need a win Thursday to keep alive their streak of never having a sub-.500 season in MEAC play. This is the 13th year in which the Spartans would have avoided a sub-.500 MEAC record.
O'QUINN THE OUTSTANDING
This season has been one for the books for NSU junior Kyle O'Quinn. Here is a list of some of his accomplishments:
• Four-time winner of both the MEAC Player and Defensive Player of the Week. His eight combined
weekly honors are three more than the next closest competitor.
• O'Quinn is tied for sixth in the nation in blocks (3.2) and is 11th in rebounding (10.7).
• Leads the MEAC in rebounding in all games, is tied for fifth in scoring and second in both blocks and field-goal percentage.
• Has set single-season NSU records for blocks and for rebounding in the Division I era (see below).
• In conference-only games, O'Quinn is tied for second in the MEAC in scoring (19.7) and leads in
both rebounding (11.7) and blocks (3.7).
RECORD-SETTING SPARTANS
Kyle O'Quinn and Aleek Pauline have both broken school records this year. O'Quinn has 299 rebounds, topping Darrell Neal's Division I-era (since 1997-98) record of 282 set in 1999-2000. O'Quinn (10.7) is also ahead of Neal's 10.5 average for the top single-season rebound average in the D-I era. Earlier in the year, O'Quinn also broke Steve Gilbert's all-time single-season school record of 63 blocks, which had stood since 1992-93. O'Quinn's growing record now stands at 90.
Pauline now owns Division I-era records for assists in a career and in a season. Pauline owned the previous D-I mark of 117 assists in a season, set in 2008-09 when he was a sophomore. He has 138 this season. Pauline also snapped Chakowby Hicks' Division I-era career assists record. Hicks had 322 from 2001-05, and Pauline now has 349.
SENIOR SWAN SONG
Seniors Aleek Pauline, Tim Zephyr and Rob Hampton will be playing their final home game at NSU this Thursday. They will be honored prior to the game. Here is a summary on each's career at NSU:
• Aleek Pauline is a third-year Spartan who transferred from Reedley College in 2008. He has played
in 82 games, starting 78. He has scored 630 career points, an average of 7.7 per game, and has 349
assists, most by any Spartan in the Division I era. He is averaging a career-high 9.5 points per game
this season. This year, he is second in the MEAC in assists at 5.1 per game, and tied for fi fth with 1.6
steals. His 138 assists this season rank fi rst in the D-I era at NSU.
• Rob Hampton is in his second year after transferring from Drexel University. Hampton has played in
56 games, starting 53. He has scored 752 points at NSU, an average of 13.4 per game. He averaged
12.4 points - second on the team - as a junior in 2009-10, and is second on the team this season at
14.4 points per game. Hampton ranks ninth in the league in scoring this season and has made 56
3-pointers the last two years.
• Tim Zephyr is in his third year at NSU after transferring from Cuyahoga CC in Ohio. He has scored
209 career points and grabbed 149 career rebounds. He has scored in double fi gures twice in his
career, both during the 2009-10 season, with a high of 11 in a win over S.C. State. He has started 40
of the 75 games in which he has played.
