Monday
NSU at Morehead State, 7 p.m., Ellis T. Johnson Arena
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes

MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team will finish out the seven-game road stretch to start the season Monday night against Morehead State at Ellis T. Johnson Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.

The Spartans will play their home opener Thursday against St. Francis (N.Y.) and unveil their 2012 MEAC Championship and NCAA Tournament banners prior to the 7 p.m. contest.

Media Coverage: The game against the Eagles on Monday will be broadcast online on the OVC (Ohio Valley Conference) Digital Network, available here. Live stats will be available through the home of Morehead State athletics.

Last Time Out: Eastern Kentucky led by just four witih 11 and a half minutes left but used a 20-5 run to pull away from NSU, 68-44, Saturday night at Paul S. McBrayer Arena. Mike DiNunno and Corey Walden combined for 24 second-half points for the Colonels.

Malcolm Hawkins led NSU with 13 points, but the Spartans connected on just 16-of-49 (32.7 percent) from the field and committed 19 turnovers. EKU shot 51.0 percent and was led by the trio of DiNunno (19 points), Walden (15) and Glenn Cosey (14).

Series History: Monday's game will complete a home-and-home series between NSU and Morehead State. The Eagles won last year's contest, 75-69, on Jan. 24, 2012 at Joseph Echols Hall, the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

About Morehead State: The Eagles own a 3-2 record on the year, with their two losses coming at the hands of Maryland and, most recently, Kentucky. Milton Chavis is the only player in double figures, averaging 18.4 points per game with a team-high 3.0 steals. Six other players average between 6 and 9.5 points per game. The Eagles outrebound their opponents by 5.8 boards per game but have committed a whopping 57 more personal fouls in those first five games.

Solid Start: Freshman Rashid Gaston proved why the coaches were high on him entering the year, as 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 against the Lancers came after grabbing an offensive board.

He averaged 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in three games from Nov. 15-18. Nearly half of his total rebounds this year (22-of-47) have come on the offensive glass.

Hitting the Offensive Glass: The Spartans have grabbed 21 more offensive rebounds than their opponents, leading to an 91-60 margin in second chance points on the year, or an average of 5.2 more points per game. NSU ranks second in the MEAC with 15.6 offensive rebounds per game, through games of Nov. 23.

Battling on the Boards: NSU has outrebounded five of its six opponents this year despite having just a 1.3 rebounds per game edge.

More Bench Production: Against Longwood on Nov. 15, NSU's bench outscored the Lancers 37-8. So far this year the Spartan bench is outscoring its opposition's by 7.5 points per game. Only once this year has the other team's bench scored more than NSU's (Seton Hall).

The MEAC Leaderboard: Several players have cracked the top 5 in the MEAC statistics, including Brandon Goode, who ranks fourth in shooting percentage (63.3 percent). Rashid Gaston also stands fourth in offensive rebounds (3.6) and total rebounding (8.0). Both Malcolm Hawkins (tied for second, 54.5 3-point shooting) and Pendarvis Williams (fourth in free throw shooting, 90.5; fifth in minutes, 35.4) also sit in the top 5.

March to 1,000: Now with 744 career points, Pendarvis Williams needs just 256 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.