Saturday
Coppin State at NSU, 6 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Radio: WNSB Hot 91.1 (Ross Gordon, Play-by-Play; Maguell Davis, Color) | Listen Live
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - Finally back in Norfolk for the long haul, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will play its first conference game at home this Saturday against Coppin State at 6 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall. It marks a stretch in which NSU will play eight of 12 games to close out the regular season on its home court.
Media Coverage: The game can be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1, with Ross Gordon and Maguell Davis on the call. Live stats and a live video feed will be available as well. The video feed will also carry the radio call with it.
MEAC Standings: NSU currently sits atop the conference at 4-0 behind North Carolina Central (3-0), Hampton (2-0) and Delaware State (1-0). The Spartans also enter the weekend with a 9-10 overall record. Coppin State (4-14 overall) is one of four teams sitting at 1-2 in conference play and in a tie for seventh place.
Last Time Out: Howard scored 16 points in the last three minutes of the game, but Norfolk State held on to defeat the Bison, 54-49, Monday night on the road in front of an ESPNU audience. The Spartans went just 8-of-16 from the free throw line in the last four-plus minutes, but Howard got no closer than four points in the last minute of play.
Pendarvis Williams scored a game-high 17 points, while Brandon Goode and Rob Johnson each added 12. Malcolm Hawkins tallied 11 points as well. The quartet scored all but two of NSU's points on the night. Prince Okoroh and Tre Lee led Howard with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Series History: NSU leads the all-time series with Coppin State, 20-11, although the teams have split the last four contests. Prior to that, the Spartans had won five of the previous six meetings.
About Coppin State: The Eagles come into the contest with a 4-14 record after facing a difficult early schedule, including 1-2 in conference play. Coppin State is coming off a 79-58 win over South Carolina State at home on Monday and also owns wins over Towson and UMBC. Michael Murray leads the way with 13.1 points per game, while Troy Franklin and Patrick Cole also score in double figures with 11.8 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. Murray also tallies a team-leading 9.3 rebounds for a squad that gets out-rebounded by 9.1 boards a game.
Breaking Out of a Slump: Pendarvis Williams has scored in double figures in six straight and eight of the last nine games after failing to do so in three of the previous four. He's averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 boards and shot 48.5 percent (33-of-68) from the field and 45.0 percent (18-of-40) from 3-point range over the last six games.
Also breaking out of a slump has been Rob Johnson and Malcolm Hawkins. Johnson has posted 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks the last four games after failing to score more than eight points in the previous four games. Hawkins, meanwhile, has tallied 14.3 points on 19-of-41 field goals (46.3 percent), including 10-of-21 from 3-point land (47.6 percent) in the last four games as well.
Heating Up from 3-Point Range: After failing to top 37 percent in 3-point shooting in eight of the prior nine games, NSU has now done so in four of the past six games, hitting 46-of-125 (36.8 percent) over that stretch. Included in there was a 9-of-15 effort in the first half against Navy, the most 3-pointers in a half since hitting 10 in the first half of a home game against Hampton on Feb. 28, 2009. The Spartans have connected on eight or more 3-pointers in four of the last six games.
In those same five games, opponents have connected on 45-of-119 shooting (37.8 percent).
Road Warriors: NSU played 16 of its first 19 games of the season on the road, including all four of its conference games. The Spartans will end the year with eight of 12 games at home and also play the MEAC tournament at the Norfolk Scope, just 1.6 miles from their home arena.
Pressure Defense: NSU's pressure defense limited Howard to just 18 points in the first half on Jan. 14. It marked the second time this season the Spartans gave up fewer than 20 points in a half. On Dec. 1 against Savannah State, a game in which NSU consistently double-teamed Savannah State, the Spartans limited the Tigers to just 17 second half points. It marked the fewest NSU gave up in a half since allowing 12 in the first half against Randolph on Nov. 16, 2011. The last time the Spartans gave up 17 or fewer points in a half against a Division I team was on Feb. 4, 2006, when NSU held Howard to just 17 points in the first half.
The Rebounding Edge: After getting out-rebounded by an average of 11.0 boards over the prior four games, NSU has fared better in the last five. During that time, the Spartans have posted a +1.4 rebounding margin.
The MEAC, NCAA Leaderboard: Several players stand in the top 5 in the MEAC statistics, including Pendarvis Williams and Jamel Fuentes. Fuentes ranks second in assists (5.4) and assist-turnover ratio (2.1), while Williams sits third in free throw percentage at 86.7 and fourth in 3-point field goals per game (1.9). Fuentes also sits 36th in the nation in assists per game.
Rashid Gaston ranks third in offensive rebounds with 3.0 per game and fifth in field goal percentage (54.8). Malcolm Hawkins ranks fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (38.4). As a team, the Spartans rank second in 3-point field goal percentage (33.5).
March to 1,000: Now with 892 career points, Pendarvis Williams needs just 108 more to become NSU's 30th all-time 1,000-point scorer. He is on course to accomplish the feat late in the season.
