Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team opened up its 2014-15 season with its largest win in more than 14 years in an 81-43 victory over Pfeiffer on Friday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
 
The new-look Spartans – seven of the 12 players had never appeared in an NSU uniform before tonight – spread the wealth on offense, with four different players scoring in double figures and eight having at least six points.
 
The 38-point margin of victory was the largest by a Spartan team in the Division I era and the biggest win since a 50-point, 115-65 triumph over Knoxville College on Jan. 29, 1996.
 
Senior Malik Thomas, a graduate transfer from Boston University, tallied 14 points to lead the Spartans. Junior Jeff Short, a transfer from Fordham who sat out last year, played an active 26 minutes and tallied 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
Junior RaShid Gaston and junior college transfer D'Shon Taylor each contributed 10 points as well.
 
Thomas sank a pair of free throws barely six minutes into the game, capping an early 17-4 run for the Spartans to get the crowd going. NSU went scoreless for more than four minutes, though, allowing the Falcons to trim the deficit to seven at 22-15 with more than eight and a half minutes left before intermission.
 
The Spartans eventually outscored the Falcons 13-1 over a more than five-minute span, and Gaston had a pair of free throws with one second left for a 22-point lead at the break, 46-24.
 
Pfeiffer never got the lead to less than 20 in the second half, and NSU began to push it closer to 30. A bucket from Thomas down low made it 58-30 with 12:25 to go, and nearly six minutes later Taylor hit 1-of-2 from the foul line for a 30-point, 64-34 lead.
 
A 15-2 run during the closing stretch of the game allowed NSU to build its biggest advantage of the night at 42 points.
 
Along with the upperclassmen newcomers, several freshman also stood out for the Spartans. Malik Gray connected on a trio of 3-pointers and ended the game with nine points and four rebounds in just 11 minutes of play. Forward Jordan Butler added six points and tied for the team lead with five boards.
 
Devonte Banner got the starting nod with senior Jamel Fuentes out of the lineup. A recruited walk-on, Banner tallied seven points to go with six assists and a pair of steals. Point guard Zaynah Robinson posted six points, three rebounds and two assists as well.
 
NSU shot 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) while limiting Pfeiffer to 35.1 percent on 13-of-37 shooting. The Falcons also turned the ball over 23 times, allowing NSU to post a 34-6 edge in points off turnovers. The Spartans also outscored them 32-16 in points in the paint and 18-4 in second chance points.
 
NSU attempted its most 3-pointers (26) in almost two years, finishing 9-of-26 overall from long range.
 
De'Vonte Jenkins tallied 14 points and eight rebounds to lead Pfeiffer.
 
NSU will play at Virginia on Sunday at 7 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on Fox Sports South and ESPN3.