Monday
Morgan State at NSU, 8 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. - Sitting in first place in the MEAC, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will be put to the test Monday against Morgan State on Martin Luther King Day. Tip-off at Joseph Echols Hall is set for 8 p.m.

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 5-0 behind North Carolina Central (3-0) and Savannah State (3-1). The Spartans also enter the contest with a 10-10 overall record. Morgan State (5-9 overall) is tied with Hampton at 2-1 in conference play behind the top 3 teams.

Last Time Out: Malcolm Hawkins scored 20 points and Brandon Goode tallied a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds to help NSU overcome a cold shooting day from beyond the arc in a 75-68 victory over Coppin State on Saturday. NSU hit just 1-of-19 from long range but led by as many as 15 in the second half.

The Spartans connected on 20-of-24 from the free throw line in the second half and shot better than 50 percent after halftime. Along with Hawkins and Goode, Rob Johnson added 11 points and Pendarvis Williams scored 10. Andre Armstrong led Coppin State with 22 points, while Michael Murray added 17 points and nine rebounds.

Series History: NSU leads the all-time series with Morgan State, 30-11, and has won four in a row over the Bears. Prior to that, Morgan State had won four in a row over NSU.

About Morgan State: The Bears defeated Hampton by two on Saturday and are just a two-overtime loss to Savannah State away from being undefeated in conference play. DeWayne Jackson had 24 points to lead MSU over Hampton and leads the team with 15.1 points per game. Justin Black and Anthony Hubbard also score in double figures with 13.3 and 12.1, respectively, for a team that scores nearly 69 points a game. Hubbard (6.6 rebounds), Black (3.6 assists), Jackson (2.5 steals) all lead the team in their respective categories. Morgan State shoots just 25.7 percent from 3-point range.

Heating Up: Pendarvis Williams has scored in double figures in seven straight and eight of the last nine games after failing to do so in three of the previous four. He's averaged 14.9 points, 4.7 boards, 1.9 steals and shot 44.9 percent (35-of-78) from the field and 40.0 percent (18-of-45) from 3-point range over the last seven games.

Also breaking out of a slump has been Rob Johnson and Malcolm Hawkins. Johnson has posted 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks the last five games after failing to score more than eight points in the previous four games. Hawkins, meanwhile, has tallied 15.2 points on 24-of-54 field goals (44.4 percent), including 10-of-25 from 3-point land (40.0 percent) with 3.0 rebounds 1.8 steals in the last five games as well.

After scoring no more than six points in the previous eight games, Brandon Goode has now had two straight contests in double figures, including his second career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Coppin State. He's averaging 11.5 points on 8-of-12 shooting (66.7 percent) and 8.0 rebounds in his last two games.

Thanks for the Free Points: NSU has averaged 22 made free throws in the previous two games, the fifth and sixth times this season the Spartans have sank 20 or more free throws in a game.

Winning the Turnover Battle: Only once in the past eight games has NSU committed more turnovers than its opponent. The Spartans forced a season-best 20 against Coppin State, and NSU's 12 steals marked the most since having 12 at UMES on Feb. 6, 2012.

The Rebounding Edge: After getting out-rebounded by an average of 11.0 boards over four games from Dec. 9-23, NSU has fared better in the last six. During that time, the Spartans have posted a +3.2 rebounding margin.

Better in the 2nd: NSU is averaging 29.3 points per game in the first half but bumps that up to 36.1 points in the second half. Opponents are the same, averaging 30.0 in the first stanza but 37.9 in the second.

March to 1,000: Now with 902 career points, Pendarvis Williams needs just 98 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, NCAA Leaderboard: Several players stand in the top 5 in the MEAC statistics, including Pendarvis Williams and Jamel Fuentes. Fuentes ranks second in assists (5.5) and third in assist-turnover ratio (2.0), while Williams sits second in free throw percentage at 88.2 and fifth in 3-point field goals per game (1.8). 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). Rob Johnson ranks fourth in defensive rebounds (4.5), and Malcolm Hawkins ranks fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (36.4). As a team, the Spartans rank second in 3-point field goal percentage (32.0) and third in both rebounding (35.8) and defensive rebounding (23.1).