Box Score ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State went on a big run to start the second half, and the Norfolk State men's basketball team was never able to recover in a 73-61 loss to the Bulldogs Saturday evening at the S-H-M Memorial Center.

The teams went into the intermission tied at 29-29, but S.C. State came out of the break on a 16-2 run. The Spartans were able to chip away at the deficit, getting to within five at 48-43 when senior Malcolm Hawkins drained a trey from the left corner with 10 minutes to go.

NSU, though, was never able to get any closer as the Spartans fell to 11-9 overall, 5-2 in conference play.

The Bulldogs (7-13, 3-3 MEAC) hit 16-of-19 from the free throw line in the second half and also connected on 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from the field after the break.

Senior Brandon Goode led NSU with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with 10 rebounds. As a team, though, the Spartans shot just 36.8 percent on 21-of-57 attempts.

Adama Adams led the Bulldogs with 23 points, which included a 17-of-17 effort from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-4 lead to start the game before Goode threw down a putback dunk over a defender. Goode had another putback dunk a few minutes later, but the Spartans called timeout after the Bulldogs hit two straight 3-pointers for a 22-12 lead at 8:38.

The Spartans began to chip away at the lead, first by using an 8-1 run to get to within three. Adams hit four straight free throws for S.C. State, but the Bulldogs only converted one field goal over the last eight minutes. Goode tied it up with a pair of free throws, and freshman RaShid Gaston's dunk with 47 seconds left made it 29-29 heading into the half.

The Bulldogs stayed in the game by hitting 11-of-12 from the free throw line in the first half despite hitting 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) from the field.

Besides Goode, Hawkins and Gaston also reached double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.

Matthew Hezekiah (13 points) and Devin Joint (11 points) also provided offense for S.C. State. The Bulldogs shot 27-of-31 from the free throw line for the game and 22-of-54 (40.7 percent) from the field.

Junior Jamel Fuentes finished with six points, five rebounds and five assists for NSU.

The Spartans will make an appearance on ESPNU on Monday at Savannah State to close out the trip. Tip-off is 7 p.m.