Friday
NSU vs. Mount St. Mary's, 7 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - Following a four-game road stretch that included trips to Boston, Seattle and Hawai'i, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will return home for the first time in nearly a month as the Spartans take on Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Tip-off at Joseph Echols Hall is scheduled for 7 p.m., as NSU will be looking to break a three-game losing streak.

Media Coverage: The game can be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon on the call. Fans can also listen to the game and watch the live video stream at the same time with the Spartan Showcase Video Streaming portal. Live stats will be available as well here.

Series History: This will mark the fourth all-time matchup between Norfolk State and Mount St. Mary's but the first as Division I programs. The previous three meetings all came in the Division II era in the South Atlantic Regional of the NCAA playoffs. NSU won in back-to-back years, 78-75 on March 8, 1986 (at Mount St. Mary's) and 70-66 on March 7, 1987 (at Echols Hall), both in the regional final. Mount St. Mary's won the first-ever meeting, 95-80, on March 7, 1969 in the first round of the regional at the Norfolk State College Gymnasium.

About Mount St. Mary's: The Mountaineers own a 3-9 record on the year, with wins over American, Bucknell and Loyola (Md.) at home. They stand 0-8 on the road, including a seven-point setback at fellow MEAC member UMES in mid-November. Mount St. Mary's has struggled to stop the opposition, having given up nearly 83 points a game this year. Opponents have also outrebounded the Mountaineers by eight boards a game and shot better than 52 percent from the floor. Julian Norfleet leads all players with 18.7 points and 5.3 assists per game, with Rashad Whack (14.4) and Sam Prescott (9.5) also serving as the big scorers for the Mountaineers.

Last Time Out: NSU committed 13 second-half turnovers, and Hawai'i outscored the Spartans by 12 in the second half on the way to a 77-66 victory last Monday night in Hawaii. NSU led by one at the half, but a combined 50 points from Christian Standhardinger and Garrett Nevels allowed the Rainbow Warriors to pull ahead after the intermission. Malcolm Hawkins and Pendarvis Williams each had 16 points for the Spartans, who were also done in by a 20-10 difference in foul calls, favoring Hawai'i.

Home, Sweet Home: NSU is currently riding a 16-game home win streak, dating back to a loss to Delaware State on Feb. 15, 2012. It marks NSU's longest home win streak since tallying 22 victories in a row from Dec. 11, 1987-Feb. 15, 1989.

Frequent Flyer Miles: The Spartans have traveled approximately 9,013 miles through the air this year on its four trips to Houston, Boston, Seattle and Honolulu, as well as 1,037 miles on the ground in road trips to Duke and Rutgers (NIT Season Tip-Off) as well as to Virginia and LIU Brooklyn. Still on tap: 805 miles on a flight to Miami and 489 miles on the ground to Savannah, Ga.

Rare Company: Pendarvis Williams is one of six all-time NSU players with at least 1,000 points, 400 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals along with Ralph Tally, Barry Mitchell, Chakowby Hicks, Tony Murphy and Michael Deloach. Williams needs 61 more rebounds to reach 500 for his career, and 53 more points to get to 1,400. Should he accomplish both, he will join Tally and Mitchell as the only players to reach 1,400 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals.

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 17.5 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.

Senior Leadership: NSU has scored 1,116 points this year, with 942 of those points (84.4 percent) coming from NSU's eight-player senior class.

Dominating the Inside: Norfolk State has outscored opponents 540-401 in points in the paint, an average of 10.0 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 94 more 3-pointers this year than NSU but are shooting almost the same (35.3 percent for NSU, 35.6 for opponents).

Stepping Up: Several players outside of Pendarvis Williams and Malcolm Hawkins have contributed at various points this year as injuries have taken their toll on the roster. Brandon Goode 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).

Riley Maye stepped up 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.

In five games from Nov. 19-Dec. 5, all starts, Marist transfer Anell Alexis 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. 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 currently shooting 51.8 percent (86-of-166) from the floor this year, including 62.8 percent (59-of-94) 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 eight games, while Malcolm Hawkins is 29-of-32 in his last seven games as well.

Brandon Goode and Riley Maye, meanwhile, have combined to hit 104-of-172 (60.5 percent) from the floor this year. As a team, the Spartans are shooting 49.0 percent.

Nationally Ranked: The Spartans ranked 21st in the nation in field goal percentage at 49.3 (through games of Dec. 29). They also stood in the top 50 in scoring offense (38th, 80.8) and assists per game (46th, 15.4).

Brandon Goode ranked 35th in blocks per game at 2.62, while Jamel Fuentes was 35th as well in assist-turnover ratio at 2.92. Fuentes also ranked 42nd in assists (5.4) and Pendarvis Williams stood 49th in assist-turnover ratio (2.73).

Williams also ranked 39th among active players with 181 career 3-pointers and 44th in career scoring at 1,331.

Better as We Go: NSU averages 4.5 more points in the second half compared to the first half, while opponents are scoring on average 9.1 more in the second stanza.

Beginning the Climb: Sitting at No. 25 right now in the all-time scoring list at NSU with 1,347, Pendarvis Williams needs 25 more points to jump four spots and begin his push to 1,400 (See table Page 3).

Jamel Fuentes now has 327 career assists, which ranks ninth all-time at NSU. He needs 12 more to reach eighth place.