Thursday
NSU at Longwood, 7 p.m., Willett Hall
Radio: WNSB Hot 91.1 Online | Live Audio
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - After a four-day trip to begin the season, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will turn around and get right back on the road with three games in four days. The Spartans begin the second road trip with a non-conference matchup at Longwood's Willett Hall Thursday at 7 p.m.
The contest will mark the return of a home-and-home series after the Spartans defeated the Lancers at Joseph Echols Hall last year. Following this game, NSU will head to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., to finish out the 2012 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament Saturday and Sunday.
Media Coverage: The game against Longwood can be heard on WNSB Hot 91.1 online only. The game will also be broadcast live on Longwood Lancers TV, part of the Big South Network's online streaming package available here. Fans can also follow the game's live stats.
Last Time Out: Seton Hall held just a two-point lead at the half, but the Pirates outscored NSU by 11 the rest of the way in holding off the Spartans, 78-65, on Monday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. NSU got as close as four with 12 minutes left before Seton Hall pulled away.
Pendarvis Williams added 20 points on the night, including a 9-of-10 effort from the free throw line. Malcolm Hawkins was the only other player in double figures with 15. Fuquan Edwin added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates.
Series History: NSU and Longwood have met six times, with NSU holding a 4-2 lead in the series. The Spartans won last year's meeting, 66-52, behind a combined 41 points between Chris McEachin and Marcos Tamares.
About Longwood: The Lancers opened their season last Friday at Marshall, falling by 34 to what is expected to be one of the top teams in Conference USA, 81-47. Jeylani Dublin posted 10 points and eight rebounds, while Michael Kessens also joined him in double figures with 11. Longwood hit just 29.8 percent from the floor for the game, including a 2-of-15 effort from the 3-point line.
Stepping Up: Faced with the challenge of having to live up to the standards of last year's MEAC Player of the Year, Kyle O'Quinn, junior Brandon Goode held up his own on Friday at Rhode Island. He led NSU in scoring and had his first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Rewarded For His Efforts: That season-opening performance from Goode, in which he reached double-digits in both points and rebounds for the first time in his career, earned him MEAC Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Making Your Free Throws: The Spartans hit just 65.5 on free throw attempts last year but are converting at a 76.6 percent clip this year thanks to a 24-of-29 effort (82.8 percent) at Seton Hall. The Spartans hadn't shot that well from the charity stripe, with a minumum of 20 attempts, since going for 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) against Morgan State March 14, 2009 in the MEAC Championship final.
Nice Debut: Freshman Rashid Gaston proved why the coaches were high on him entering the year, as he posted seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks in just 16 minutes coming off the bench at Rhode Island. He followed that up with nine points and five rebounds in 27 minutes of action at Seton Hall.
More Bench Production: Junior Jamel Fuentes played plenty last year in leading NSU in assists, but he certainly stepped up his game against the Rams in the season opener, going for a career-high 11 points off the bench. He also tied his career high with seven boards while adding five assists.
Big-Time Defense: NSU held Rhode Island to 28.3 percent shooting, the lowest by a Spartan opponent since Howard shot just 27.3 percent on Jan. 9, 2012. It also marked the first time NSU held an opponent under 30 pecent shooting in both halves since TCU on Nov. 20, 2011 in the Paradise Jam.
In fact, outside of Nikola Malesevic's 26 points on 7-of-15 shooting, the rest of the Rhode Island players combined for just 8-of-38 shooting and 29 points.
March to 1,000: Now with 706 career points, Pendarvis Williams needs just 294 more to become NSU's 30th all-time 1,000-point scorer. He is on course to accomplish the feat in mid-to-late February.
O'Quinn's NBA Debut: Selected with the 49th overall pick in the Draft by the Orlando Magic, O'Quinn made his NBA debut on Nov. 2 against the Denver Nuggets, grabbing one rebound in a little more than three minutes of action. He scored his first career points two days later against the Phoenix Suns with a pair of free throws.
In his latest game, he added three rebounds, two blocks and two points against Brooklyn on Nov. 9.
