Box Score PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team held back Fairleigh Dickinson late in the game to come away with a 70-62 victory over the Knights late Monday afternoon at the Rutgers Athletic Center in the consolation bracket of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

FDU cut the Spartan lead to single digits with a minute and a half left after trailing for most of the game by at least 10. The Knights got to within seven with 1:30 to go when Mustafaa Jones made three straight free throws.

A driving layup by redshirt senior Marese Phelps and two free throws by fellow senior Brandon Goode helped the Spartans ice the win. Norfolk State improved its record to 4-2 on the year, while FDU fell to 1-6.

Redshirt senior Malcolm Hawkins led NSU with 16 points, including 9-of-10 from the free throw line to help the Spartans late in the contest when their offense began to slow. Norfolk State never trailed in the game and held a double-digit lead eight minutes into the contest until the last minute and a half.

Redshirt senior Anell Alexis posted 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting with six rebounds, while senior Brandon Goode tallied 13 points, nine rebounds and tied his career high with five blocks.

After shooting better than 53 percent in the first half to take a 17-point lead at the break, NSU cooled in the second stanza. Sidney Sanders Jr. and Mathias Seilund combined for 24 points in the second half for the Knights to prevent Norfolk State from pulling away when it looked like the Spartans would following a strong first half.

FDU scored the first seven points of the second stanza to get the deficit down to 10, but the Spartans immediately responded by scoring seven in a row to get their lead back up to 17 with 14 and a half minutes left. NSU struggled to convert on the offensive end until two quick buckets made it 56-40 with seven minutes left in the game.

A trey from Jones again cut the Spartan lead to 10, 61-51, with a little less than four minutes to go. The Knights got to within seven three different times, but Hawkins sank 6-of-6 free throws in the latter few minutes of the game as NSU converted just one field goal in the last five minutes of the contest.

Sanders led all players with 19 points on the day, while Seilund added 11 points and eight boards and Matt MacDonald totaled 10 points for the Knights.

Thanks to a strong showing from Hawkins, NSU hit 19-of-26 from the foul line for the game.

NSU's defense forced four early turnovers by the Knights, helping the Spartans to an early 9-2 lead to start the game. A bank shot in the lane from senior Pendarvis Williams after his own miss quickly pushed the lead to double digits a little less than eight minutes into the contest.

A bucket down low by Alexis gave the Spartans a 19-point edge, 27-8, at the 7:49 mark before the Knights went on a 12-4 run to get to within 11. Goode had five points late in the half and 11 altogether before the break to give the Spartans a 39-22 lead heading into the locker room.

The Spartans shot 24-of-54 (44.4 percent) for the game after hitting 15-of-28 in the first half. The Knights, meanwhile, shot just 21-of-59 (35.6 percent).

Williams also scored in double figures with 10 points in addition to seven rebounds and four assists. The Spartans held the rebounding edge, 40-34.

NSU will face Stillman College on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the second half of the NIT consolation bracket at the RAC.