Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – In a wild contest that saw 17 lead changes, the Norfolk State men's basketball team erased an 11-point deficit and got key stops over a 10-minute stretch in the second half in an 85-79 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night in NSU's home opener at Joseph Echols Hall.

The Spartans shot an absurd 69 percent in the second half and had all five starters in double figures to snap a four-game losing streak. The teams combined for 91 points in the second stanza.

With starting guard Pendarvis Williams out as a precaution due to injury, NSU (3-5) got a huge game from point guard Jamel Fuentes. The junior tallied a career-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting with 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals.

It marked the second straight game he reached double figures in assists.

More importantly for the Spartans, they had just eight turnovers, including a healthy 15-8 assist-turnover ratio, and committed just 12 fouls. NSU came into the game averaging more than 15 turnovers a game and nearly 20 fouls a game.

Neither team had more than a six-point lead in the first half, but a 16-5 run for St. Francis (2-3) early in the second half stretched the Terriers' lead to 11. The Spartans, though, got the stops when they needed. NSU countered with a 10-2 run that eventually turned into a 28-9 stretch that lasted nearly 10 minutes.

St. Francis shot just 4-of-12 during that time and committed six turnovers to help put the Spartans up by eight, 78-70, with 2:52 to go. The Terriers twice cut the Spartan lead to four before NSU held on for the victory.

Senior Rob Johnson nearly equaled his career high with 18 points to go with six rebounds and three assists. Junior Brandon Goode added 13 points and five boards, while senior Kris Brown (12 points) and junior Malcolm Hawkins (10 points) joined them in double figures.

Jalen Cannon led St. Francis with 16 points and nine rebounds. Akeem Johnson and Ben Mockford added 15 and 13, respectively.

The Terriers hit 53.1 percent for the game on 34-of-64 shooting. NSU connected on 52.5 percent (31-of-59), including an 18-of-26 effort (69.2 percent) in the second half.

The Spartans celebrated their 2012 MEAC Championship with a ring ceremony and the unveiling of the MEAC and NCAA banners prior to the contest. Mockford gave the Terriers a lead before the game even started, though, after the Spartans were hit with a technical for dunking during pregame warmups. Mockford then hit a trey on St. Francis' first possession of the game, and Cannon quickly made it 9-4 barely two minutes into the game with a pair of layups.

The torrid pace continued, and the Terriers went up by a 15-9 margin at the 15:35 mark. Fuentes gave the Spartans their first lead of the game at 18-17, capping a 9-2 NSU run when he quickly moved up the court after a Terrier miss and finished a traditional 3-point play.

The teams continued to go back and forth, with six lead changes in just four and a half minutes of play. After the Terriers twice took four-point leads, Brown dribbled and launched a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 32-31 Spartan advantage with 3:41 left in the half. Mockford hit a mid-range jumper with 10 seconds left in the stanza to give St. Francis a 37-36 lead at the break.

The first half saw 12 overall lead changes.

Both teams continued to light up the scoreboard early in the second half, but after Fuentes and Goode tied it up at 45-45 on two quick possessions, the Terriers went on a 9-0 run to open up a nine-point lead. Junior #Zieyik Estimè# ended that run with a deep trey from the right wing with 13:52 on the clock.

St. Francis extended the lead to the largest of the game at 11 before back-to-back treys from Estimè and Johnson forced a Terrier timeout at the 11:21 mark. The Spartans cut the deficit to three, 61-58, on the heels of an 8-0 run, and a nice spin move by Goode down low and a pair of free throws from Johnson put the Spartans up by one, 67-66.

After the teams traded baskets, NSU never trailed again. The Spartans went up by as much as eight at 78-70 when Hawkins drove in from the right wing and finished a 3-point play.

Johnson and Fuentes combined for 23 points in the second half.

The Spartans hit 18-of-26 from the foul line, including an 8-of-8 effort from Johnson and a 6-of-7 night from Hawkins.

NSU will play its first two conference games of the year this weekend, beginning Saturday at Savannah State at 6 p.m.