Saturday
NSU at East Carolina, 5:30 p.m., Williams Arena
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - Back from the holiday break, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will continue the nearly month-long road swing Saturday at East Carolina's Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Tip-off between the Spartans and the Pirates is set for 5:30 p.m.

Media Coverage: Both live stats and a live video stream are available for the game.

Last Time Out: Iona's offense got up and down the court and was nearly unstoppable in a 100-72 victory over NSU last Sunday at Iona's Hynes Athletics Center. Lamont Jones and David Laury scored 24 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Gael offense. Iona had a 47-26 advantage on the boards and went 22-of-27 from the free throw line.

Pendarvis Williams led the Spartans with 15 points, while Rashid Gaston and Zieyik Estimè added 13 and 12 points, respectively. NSU posted a season-high 12 3-pointers.

Series History: This will mark the first all-time meeting between East Carolina and NSU.

About East Carolina: The Pirates come into the game holding a 7-3 record, although three of those victories have come against non-Division I opponents. Maurice Kemp provides a good portion of the scoring at 17.5 points to go along with 8.6 rebounds per game. Miguel Paul ranks second with 11.5 points and a team-best 4.4 assists, and Robert Sampson leads all players with 9.4 rebounds and adds 9.7 points. East Carolina is scoring a little more than 78 points per contest.

Hot Hands from Long Range: NSU connected on 12-of-29 attempts from 3-point range against Iona, marking the most 3-pointers in a game since the Spartans had 12 against Hampton on Feb. 28, 2009. The school record stands at 13 against North Carolina A&T on Feb. 24, 2007.

Solid 3-Point Defense: NSU held a potent Fighting Illini 3-point shooting squad in check after limiting UMBC to a 0-of-16 effort from beyond the arc in the prior game. Since the 1998-99 season, NSU had never held an opponent to without a 3-point field goal until doing so against the Retrievers on Dec. 9.

The Illinois, meanwhile, entered the contest with NSU ranked first in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (10.8) and 14th in 3-point field goal percentage (40.8). Against the Spartans, Illinois hit just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc, a 26.1 percent clip. Illinois also shot 21-of-60 (35.0 percent) overall for the game, below the team's 46.0 percent average coming into the contest.

The Spartans rank first in the MEAC and 54th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 29.4. Only one opponent in the last nine games has shot better than 35 percent from 3-point range (N.C. State).

Gaston Breaks Out of Slump: Rashid Gaston was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 17 after posting 23 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist in a pair of games at Illinois and N.C. State.  He followed that up with a 13-point effort at Iona, giving him an average of 12.0 points per game in the last three contests.

On the season, nearly 50 percent of his total rebounds this year (42-of-87) have come on the offensive glass.

Sharp Shooter: Junior Zieyik Estimè was brought in to give NSU a scoring threat from outside, and he did just that against both Longwood and Iona. He hit 4-of-6 from beyond the arc against Longwood, with three of those 3-pointers coming with less than three minutes remaining in the first half to help NSU take a 14-point lead at the break. Then against Iona, Estimè went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc for another 12 points.

The Century Mark: Iona scored 100 points on the dot against NSU, marking the first time an opponent scored 100 in a regulation game since New Mexico defeated NSU 107-84 on Dec. 28, 2006.

Phelps, Pugh Ready to Go: After sitting out the fall semester due to academics, the duo of Marese Phelps and Quasim Pugh became available for the Dec. 15 contest at North Carolina State. Phelps added five points in that contest and followed it up with eight points at Iona.

Good From the Line: Pendarvis Williams ranks first in the MEAC and 19th in the nation in free throw shooting, hitting 90.9 percent of his charity stripe attempts on the year (30-of-33).

March to 1,000: Now with 813 career points, Pendarvis Williams needs just 187 more to become NSU's 30th all-time 1,000-point scorer. He is on course to accomplish the feat late in the season.

The MEAC Leaderboard: Several players have cracked the top 5 in the MEAC statistics, including Pendarvis Williams and Jamel Fuentes. Williams ranks first in free throw percentage at 90.9, and Fuentes ranks second in assists (5.5) and assist-turnover ratio (2.0). Rashid Gaston ranks third in offensive rebounds with 3.2 per game, and Rob Johnson sits fifth in defensive rebounds (4.6).

The Spartans rank first as a team in opponent 3-point field goal percentage (29.4) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (32.7).