Monday
NSU at Hawai'i, 12 a.m. EST, Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team will get down to business on its excursion to the Hawaiian islands, as the Spartans take on the University of Hawai'i on Monday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tip-off is 12 a.m. EST, 7 p.m. local time.

Media Coverage: Fans can watch the game live on BigWest.tv. Hawai'i will also provide live stats here.

Series History: This will mark the third matchup between the two programs. The Spartans lost both of those previous meetings at Hawai'i by at least 19, during the 1997-98 and 2001-02 seasons. The latter came as part of Nike Tip-Off Tournament to start that year.

About Hawai'i: Hawai'i owns a 9-3 overall record this year after defeating Saint Mary's and Oregon State last week. Monday's contest will pit two teams against each other that both score at least 80 points a game. The Rainbow Warriors have five players in double figures as they score nearly 83 points per game. Christian Standhardinger leads all players with 17.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Isaac Fotu (13.3), Garrett Nevels (13.2) and Brandon Spearman (11.7) also reach double figures, while Keith Shamburger tallies 10.5 points and a team-leading 4.9 assists. The Rainbow Warriors shoot almost 49 percent from the floor and outrebound opponents by almost six boards a game.

Last Time Out: Virginia's defense held NSU to its lowest point total of the year in a 66-56 victory over the Spartans on Dec. 23 at UVa's John Paul Jones Arena. Norfolk State tied it up early in the second half before the Cavaliers went on a 20-5 run. Pendarvis Williams led NSU with 12 points, while Malcolm Hawkins and Marese Phelps had 10 each. NSU hit a season-low 36.4 percent from the floor, although the Spartans did limit themselves to just nine turnovers.

The Hawk: Senior Malcolm Hawkins has scored in double figures in every game this year. He had his fifth 20-point game of the year against Seattle with 22 points. His 17.6 per-game average currently ranks as the seventh-best in the Division I era (1997-Present) behind three players - Michael Deloach, Damian Woolfolk and Tony Murphy - who each became 1,700 career point scorers at NSU.

Dominating the Inside: Norfolk State has outscored opponents 510-373 in points in the paint, an average of 10.5 points per game. Against East Carolina, the Spartans had a 50-16 edge in points in the paint, and against Stillman that margin was 62-26. Opponents have taken 97 more 3-pointers this year than NSU but are shooting almost the same (34.8 percent for NSU, 34.9 for opponents).

Stepping Up: Brandon Goode overcame a slow start to the year and scored in double figures in eight straight from Nov. 19-Dec. 19. During that time, he averaged 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 50-of-79 (63.3 percent).

With injuries taking their toll on the team's depth, Riley Maye stepped up coming off the bench, averaging 11.7 points on 13-of-19 shooting over a three-game stretch from Dec. 5-15. All four of his career double-digit scoring games have come this year.

Marist transfer Anell Alexis also overcame a slow start to the year. In five games from Nov. 19-Dec. 5, all starts, he posted 12.8 points on 21-of-39 shooting (53.8 percent), shot 17-of-20 (85 percent) from the foul line and averaged 4.6 rebounds per game. Against Boston University and Seattle, he posted 13.5 points on 11-of-18 shooting with 5.5 rebounds.

Most recently, Marese Phelps scored in double figures for the first time this year with 10 at Virginia.

Hot Shooting: Thanks to a 35-of-53 effort over a five-game stretch from Nov. 26-Dec. 15, Pendarvis Williams is now shooting 52.0 percent (79-of-152) from the floor this year, including 62.8 percent (54-of-86) from inside the arc. Williams also connected on 11-of-23 from the 3-point line during that five-game stretch. He has hit 23-of-26 from the foul line over the last seven games.

Brandon Goode and Riley Maye, meanwhile, have combined to hit 97-of-161 (60.2 percent) from the floor this year. As a team, the Spartans are shooting 49.3 percent.

The Spartans shot at least 42 percent from the field in the first 12 games this year, the best shooting stretch since hitting at least 40 percent in 15 straight from Jan. 17-March 9, 2011.

Ahead at the Half: NSU had an 11-point lead at the intermission in the loss at Seattle, marking the second time this year  the Spartans have lost after leading at the break. The Spartans are 24-3 since the start of the 2012-13 season when leading or tied at the half and 44-4 dating back to the 2011-12 season.

Hot Hands: Over a seven-game stretch from Nov. 19-Dec. 15, Pendarvis Williams posted 23 assists to just five turnovers, while Jamel Fuentes has a 29-7 assist-turnover ratio over the last five games.

Taking Care of the Ball: Only twice in the last 10 games has NSU had more turnovers than its opponent, against Stillman and Seattle.

Better as We Go: NSU averages 4.1 more points in the second half compared to the first half, while opponents are scoring on average 8.0 more in the second stanza.

Beginning the Climb: Sitting at No. 25 right now in the all-time scoring list at NSU with 1,331, Pendarvis Williams needs 19 more points to move into a tie for 24th with Chakowby Hicks.

Jamel Fuentes now has 321 career assists, which ranks 10th all-time at NSU. He needs one more to reach ninth place.

With five blocks against Bethune-Cookman, Brandon Goode moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time list. He now has 112 career blocks. 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.