Monday
NSU vs. East Carolina, 9:30 p.m., Cameron Indoor Stadium
Tuesday
NSU vs. UNC Asheville, 8:30 p.m., Cameron Indoor Stadium
Radio: Hot 91.1 FM
ECU: Live Stats | Game Notes
UNC Asheville: Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team will take part in the NIT Season Tip-Off beginning on Monday, when the Spartans face East Carolina at 9:30 p.m. at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be the second of a doubleheader, with the host Blue Devils facing UNC Asheville at 7 p.m.

Media Coverage: The game can be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats will be available here for the ECU game and here for the UNC Asheville game.

Series History: East Carolina and Norfolk State have met only once, a 74-63 Pirate win on Dec. 29, 2012 at ECU's Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Maurice Kemp and Miguel Paul had 23 and 19 points, respectively, for East Carolina, while Pendarvis Williams and RaShid Gaston had 15 and 12 points, respectively, for NSU.

About East Carolina: The Pirates own a 3-0 record on the year, and like NSU, have played a pair of non-Division I opponents in Chowan and North Carolina Wesleyan. East Carolina's lone D-I win came against UNCG, a narrow 85-84 victory on the road. Akeem Richmond had 19 points in that game and leads the Pirates with 16.3 points per game. They have five players averaging double figures, including Brandan Stith, who averages a double-double of 11.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest.

Last Time Out: Virginia Union took a two-point lead with 4:43 left in the game, but NSU outscored the Panthers 14-4 the rest of the way for a 92-84 victory on Friday night at Joseph Echols Hall. Norfolk State was up by as much as 16 in the second half before Virginia Union began to chip away at the lead. Malcolm Hawkins went 8-of-16 from the floor for a game-high 25 points. Gaston had a double-double of 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, while Williams added 16 points and nine boards.

Offense on the Go: NSU has scored 80 or more points for three straight games, the first time doing that since scoring 110, 84 and 83 from Jan. 31-Feb. 7, 2011. The Spartans have tallied 90 or more in the last two contests, the first time accomplishing that since Feb. 1-6, 1999, when they had 104 and 99 in two straight.

In fact, NSU's 207 points over the last two contests is the most in a two-game stretch since posting 209 in wins against St. Augustine's (Feb. 16) and Elizabeth City State (Feb. 19) during the 1993-94 season.

Hot Shooting: NSU has hit better than 41 percent from the 3-point line in all three games this year as well as better than 73 percent from the foul line and 44 percent from the field. It is the first time since Jan. 31, 2011 season that the Spartans have shot better than 41 percent from the 3-point line in three straight, and the first time since Feb. 12, 2011 that they hit 73 percent from the charity stripe in three consecutive contests.

In the last two games, Williams has shot 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) from the field and 8-of-16 (50.0 percent) from the 3-point line. Gaston, meanwhile, has hit 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) from the floor in the last two contests. The Spartans, as a team, have hit 56.8 percent on 71-of-125 shooting during that time as well.

Scoring Binge vs. Newberry
*NSU's 115-point effort against Newberry marked the most points scored in the Division I era and the most since tallying 115 against Knoxville on Jan. 29, 1996.
* With 38 points - on his 22nd birthday no less - Williams posted the second-most points in a game in the D-I era, tying Darryl Towe, who also had 38 points on Jan. 19, 2002. Only Tony Murphy, who scored a D-I record 43 on Dec. 19, 2006, has had more in a game than Williams in NSU's 16 years as a D-I program.
* The 210 points scored by NSU and Newberry is the most since NSU defeated Coppin State 110-108 in double overtime on Jan. 31, 2011. It was the most combined points in a regulation game since NSU defeated Shaw 134-90 on Feb. 4, 1987.

More Tidbits on Newberry
* NSU's 41 field goals were the most since the Spartans had 42 in a win over Troy State on Dec. 30, 1998.
* NSU's 22 assists were the most since posting 24 against Hampton on Feb. 28, 2009.
* Williams' 14 field goals were the most since Michael Deloach had 14 on March 4, 2010 at North Carolina A&T.
* NSU's 60.3 percent shooting clip was the best since hitting 23-of-35 (65.7 percent) in a win over Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 27, 2011.
* NSU's 64 second-half points were the most scored in a half since the Spartans had 69 in the second stanza in an 87-82 loss against Coppin State on Jan. 30, 2012.

Williams, Hawkins Form Nice Duo: Williams' 38-point effort came one game after Hawkins had 31 points in the season opener at Texas Southern. It was the first time NSU had back-to-back 30-point performances since Kyle O'Quinn (32) and Deloach (34) did it on Jan. 25 and 31, 2010, respectively.

Hawkins' 24 second-half points were the most since O'Quinn had 27 in the second half against Coppin State on Jan. 30, 2012. Hawkins hit 10-of-13 from the free throw line as well, the most free throws since O'Quinn had 10 against UMES on Jan. 7, 2012.

Beginning the Climb: Sitting at No. 30 right now in the all-time scoring list at NSU with 1,180, Pendarvis Williams needs 37 more points to move into a tie for 29th with Peter Mitchell (See page 3).

With five blocks against Virginia Union, Brandon Goode jumped up to fifth place all-time at NSU in blocks with 90. He needs 18 more to move into a tie for second-place all-time at NSU with Karandick Ogunride. Of course, the best Goode can finish is second, as the all-time leader is Kyle O'Quinn, who had 283 in his four-year career.