Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - NSU (12-5, 4-0 MEAC) puts its five-game winning streak on the line this Saturday when the Spartans face Morgan State (3-10, 1-1) to begin a three-game road swing. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. at Hill Field House in Baltimore, Md.
The Spartans won their fifth in a row, matching the program's longest Division I winning streak, with a 68-48 win over Howard on Monday night. Pendarvis Williams and Chris McEachin scored 16 points each for NSU, which forced Howard into 27 percent shooting.
Morgan State dropped its first MEAC game of the year, a 57-55 setback at Savannah State on Monday despite 23 points from DeWayne Jackson.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Radio: WNSB 91.1 FM (Play-by-Play: Ross Gordon; Color: Joe Cook)
Live Audio: www.nsuspartans.com (Click “Live Audio” link under Inside Athletics tab)
SERIES NOTES
The Spartans lead the series with Morgan State, 28-11. NSU swept the season series from the Bears last year, winning 76-74 in Baltimore on Jan. 29 and 69-63 in Norfolk on Feb. 26. That turned the tables on MSU, which swept the season series with a pair of overtime wins in 2009-10. Each of the last four meetings between the teams has been decided by six points or less.
RECAPPING HOWARD
Additional notes from NSU's win over Howard on Monday:
• The win was NSU's 12th of the season, already matching last year's total for the entire season.
• NSU held Howard to 48 points and 27 percent shooting, both of which are the second-lowest marks by an NSU opponent this season.
• NSU had a season-high 11 players score.
• Rob Johnson (eight points) and Brandon Goode (six) both notched season highs in scoring.
• Rodney McCauley grabbed a season-high eight rebounds and tied his career high with three steals.
• Kyle O'Quinn was held to just five points, his third-lowest total of the year and just the third time this season he's been held to single digits.
QUICK START
The Spartans' 12-5 start to the season is their best in the program's Division I history. More on the team's fast start:
• The last time NSU started a season with 12 wins in its first 17 games was in 1996-97, the Spartans' last year at the Division II level in the CIAA. That team began 13-5.
• NSU will be looking for a 5-0 start to MEAC play against Morgan State, which would tie the 2002-03 team for the best-ever start to MEAC play in program history.
• The Spartans already have Division I wins over teams from six other conferences: CAA (Drexel), Mountain West (TCU), Mid-American (Toledo), Ohio Valley (Eastern Kentucky) and Patriot (Navy). NSU had never beaten teams from either the MAC, Patriot or Mountain West conferences prior to this season.
• NSU did not win its 10th game last year until March 3, but achieved the feat on Jan. 1 this year.
• The Spartans enter the weekend ranked 61st in the RPI. The next-highest MEAC team is Morgan State, at 201.
WORTH EVERY PENNY
Sophomore Pendarvis Williams has emerged as a rising star for the NSU basketball team in his fi rst year as a starter. The 2011 MEAC All-Rookie Team member is third on the team and 10th in the MEAC in scoring, at 12.5 points per game. He earned his first-ever MEAC Player of the Week honor for Dec. 26 following a two-game stretch where he averaged 20.5 points in wins over Toledo (17 pts.) and St. Francis (career-high 24). Williams has also been key to NSU's current five-game winning streak. He has either led or tied for the team scoring lead in all five games. Williams is averaging 19 points in the last five games while shooting 65 percent from the floor and 50 percent from 3-point range.
EVANS TO APPEAR ON PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW
Norfolk State head men's basketball coach Anthony Evans will appear on this week's FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW with Donal Ware. FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW is the sports talk show which places major emphasis on HBCU Sports. The show airs on 38 terrestrial radio stations around the country including Fridays from 6-7 p.m. in parts of the Tidewater area on WRVS-FM 89.9 and at www.boxtorow.com Saturdays from 1 - 2 p.m. as well as on satellite radio Fridays from 1 - 2 p.m. on SiriusXM Channel 141. The show can also be heard on-line Saturdays from 1 - 2 p.m. at www.boxtorow.com Click on the HEAR THE SHOW link.
