This Weekend
Saturday: NSU vs. Loyola (Md.), Noon, Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.)
Sunday: NSU vs. UMKC, 11:30 a.m., Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.)
Loyola: Live Stats | Game Notes
UMKC: Game Notes

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - A long road swing continues for the Norfolk State men's basketball team as the Spartans take on Loyola (Md.) Saturday at noon at the Mohegan Sun Arena, part of the 2012 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. NSU will finish out the tournament on Sunday against either Albany or UMKC at either 11:30 a.m. or 2 p.m.

NSU is in the midst of a road trip that will see the Spartans play three games in four days. It's also part of a stretch to start the season in which NSU will be on the road for 9 1/2 of 11 days.

Media Coverage: Live stats will be available for all the games at the tournament. Click here for the live stats for Saturday's game, and check back later for Sunday's live stats link once Saturday's games have been completed.

Last Time Out: Rashid Gaston posted a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, and NSU shot 7-of-12 from the 3-point line while limiting Longwood to 4-of-21 shooting from beyond the arc in a 78-66 win over the Lancers on Thursday.

The Spartans also connected on 21-of-32 from the charity stripe, compared to just 8-of-12 for Longwood. Junior #Zieyik Estimè# had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, while Pendarvis Williams and Malcolm Hawkins chipped in with 11 and 10, respectively.

Series History: This will mark the first-ever meeting between NSU and Loyola.

About Loyola: Like the Spartans, the Greyhounds also own a 2-1 record, and like NSU, Loyola's lone loss was on the road against one of the teams in the Hall of Fame tournament, 85-63 at Washington. Dylon Cormier has led the way with 19.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Erik Etherly has contributed 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds, and Robert Olson (11.0) and Tyler Hubbard (10.3) have also scored in double figures for the Greyhounds.

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 on Nov. 9. Just two games later, he tallied his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds at Longwood, leading the Spartans in both categories. Four of his six baskets came after grabbing an offensive board.

More Bench Production: Junior Jamel Fuentes played plenty last year in leading NSU in assists, but he certainly stepped up his game against Rhode Island 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.

Then against Longwood on Thursday, NSU's bench outscored the Lancers 37-8.

Sharp Shooter: Junior Zieyik Estimè was brought in to give NSU a scoring threat from outside, and he did just that against Longwood, hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc for the game. He hit three of those 3-pointers with less than three minutes remaining in the first half to help NSU take a 14-point lead at the break.

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 Nov. 11 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.

Hitting the Offensive Glass: Despite being outrebounded by five on the offensive glass this year, the Spartans have made the most of those board, outscoring opponents by a 55-39 margin in second-chance points.

Making Your Free Throws: The Spartans hit just 65.5 on free throw attempts last year but are converting at a 72.2 percent clip this year, including 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.

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.

Longwood shot just 19.0 percent from beyond the arc, the lowest by a Spartan opponent in 15 games since UMES converted on just 1-of-12 attempts (8.3 percent) on Feb. 6, 2012.

March to 1,000: Now with 717 career points, Pendarvis Williams needs just 283 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.