Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Barclays Center Classic @ Saint Peter's (Yanitelli Center)
Friday, Nov. 28; 5 p.m.
NSU vs. St. Francis Brooklyn
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes
Saturday, Nov. 29, 5/7:30 p.m.
NSU vs. Saint Peter's/Tennessee State
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - A long road trip continues for the Norfolk State men's basketball team when the Spartans compete in the Barclays Center Classic this Friday and Saturday at Saint Peter's. First up, NSU will compete against St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City, N.J.

The Spartans will also take on either Saint Peter's or Tennessee State on Saturday at either 5 or 7:30 p.m. based on the first day's results. It will also mark the end of a long week for Norfolk State, which flew out of town on Monday morning to play a contest at Vanderbilt on Tuesday that was also part of the Classic.

Media Coverage
A live video stream of all four games over the course of the weekend will be available here. Live stats can also be viewed here for Friday's contest.

Series History
This will mark the third-ever meeting between NSU and St. Francis Brooklyn. The Spartans won both of the previous games, in the 2011-12 season and then again in 2012-13. NSU won 84-74 at St. Francis in the first-ever matchup on Dec. 23, 2011. St. Francis made the return trek to Norfolk the next season, when the Spartans came away with an 85-79 win on Nov. 29, 2012.

About St. Francis Brooklyn
The Terriers have dropped their first four games of the season, including a pair against Rutgers on Sunday (76-73) and La Salle on Tuesday (73-60) also part of the Barclays Center Classic. St. Francis also owns a three-point loss to Army last week. Prior to Tuesday's game, three different players were scoring in double figures, led by Antonio Jenifer and Brent Jones each at 11.3 points per game. Jones also contributed 5.3 assists and 3.7 steals. Kevin Douglas scored 10.7 points with 6.7 rebounds for an offense scoring nearly 69 points per game but also giving up almost 78 per contest. The Terriers did outrebound their first three opponents by seven boards per game, although St. Francis was turning the ball over almost seven more times per contest as well.

Last Time Out
NSU shot just 32 percent from the floor for the night, and despite game and career highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds from D'Shon Taylor, the Spartans fell by a 63-53 score to Vanderbilt on Tuesday at Memorial Gym. The Commodores hit 9-of-22 from 3-point range, had 19 assists on their 22 baskets and also committed just nine turnovers in the victory. NSU did outscore Vanderbilt by five in the second half while holding the Commodores to just 10-of-31 shooting in the second stanza. Malik Thomas was the only other double-figure scorer for NSU with 13 points. The Spartans also held the rebounding edge, 42-34.

Player Tidbits
RaShid Gaston
 • Missed 2 games (UVa., Boston U.) with a bruised knee
 • Ranks 20th in NSU records with a .524 career shooting percentage

Jamel Fuentes
 • Tied career high with 11 assists vs. Texas Southern
 • Third career game with 10+ assists
 • Stands 91st in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (2.83) and 135th in assists (4.3)
 • Ranks 11th in NCAA Division I in career assist-turnover ratio (1.92), 13th in assists (431) and 48th in assist average (4.14)
 • Fifth all-time at NSU in assists with 431; Needs 10 more to move into fourth place
 • Stands 17th in career steals (122)

Jeff Short
 • Career-high 28 points vs. Boston U, topping previous career best of 19 points at Virginia
 • Set career highs with four assists and three steals against Pfeiffer
 • 29th in the nation in free-throw percentage (95.0), 98th in field goal attempts (59), 104th in 3-point field goals (11) and 105th in 3-point field goal attempts (28)

Malik Thomas
 • 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 20-of-37 shooting last 3 games
 • Career-high 20 points vs. Texas Southern; 2nd straight double-double also with 10 rebounds
 • Topped previous career high of 19 points set game before vs. Boston U.; Career-high 12 rebounds that game
 • 1st NSU player with back-to-back double-doubles since Brandon Goode on Feb. 15 and 22, 2014
 • Ranks 17th in the nation with 2 double-doubles and 88th in field goal attempts (60)

D'Shon Taylor
 • 19.0 points on 12-of-23 shooting with 7.5 rebounds last 2 games
 • Career highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds at Vanderbilt
 • Tied his previous career high of 19 points set vs. Texas Southern game before

Road Trekking
After playing three of their first four games at home and all four in the state of Virginia, the Spartans find themselves in the midst of a four-game road swing. It started on Tuesday when they played at Vanderbilt. NSU then flew up to New Jersey on Wednesday to compete Friday and Saturday in the Barclays Center Classic. After returning home late Saturday night, the Spartans will spend a day in Norfolk before driving up to Hofstra for a Tuesday night matchup.

Along with last Tuesday's contest at Vanderbilt, NSU's game at No. 9 Virginia on Nov. 16 was also part of the Classic.

Better After the Break
The Spartans have allowed an average of 5.6 less points in the second half than the first stanza. Opponents have shot a collective 47-of-122 (38.5 percent) in the second half, compared to 54-of-108 (50 percent) in the first. From 3-point range, opponents are connecting on 23-of-52 (44.2 percent) in the first half but just 12-of-39 (30.8) in the second.

It's a 360 degree turn from the previous two years. Opponents scored on average 6.7 more points in the second half than the first stanza last year and 7.5 more points in the second half than the first in 2012-13.

Specialty Stats
So far this season, NSU is outscoring opponents by an average of 18.0-10.2 in points off turnovers and 12.4-7.6 in second-chance points. That is because the Spartans have 19 more offensive rebounds this year and 17 less turnovers than their opponents. NSU also has the slight edge in points in the paint (24.0-21.0) after averaging 5.6 points per game more than the opposition in that category last year.

After setting the Division I record in 2013-14 for fewest turnovers per game at 13.4, NSU is currently averaging 11.4 giveaways per contest this season while forcing 14.8. The school record for fewest turnovers per game was set in 1987-88 at 13.1.

The Spartans also finished with their best free throw percentage in 10 years last year at 69.3, the best mark since the 2003-04 campaign (72.0 percent). So far in 2014-15, NSU is connecting on 68.3 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank in the top 100 in the nation in three categories, including turnovers (59th, 11.4) and turnover margin (62nd, +3.4). They also stand 96th in offensive rebounds per game (13.00), 114th in scoring defense (62.0) and 123rd in blocks (4.0).

Ahead at the Half
The Spartans are 56-8 since the start of the 2011-12 season when leading or tied at the half.

O'Quinn's NBA Season
Kyle O'Quinn is back for his third season with the Orlando Magic after being drafted in the second round in 2012. NSU's first NBA player in 25 years, O'Quinn averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game during his rookie campaign in 2012-13 and 6.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 assists per game in 2013-14. He missed 15 games this year after injuring his ankle in the season opener. He's averaging 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two games this season.

Spartans in the Pros
Aside from Kyle O'Quinn, NSU has two other former players competing professionally. Both Pendarvis Williams and Michael Deloach are currently in Italy. Williams is averaging 14.7 points per game for Moncada Solar Agrigento of the A2 Gold league, while Deloach is tallying 15.9 per contest for Liomatic Viola Reggio Calabria of the A2 Silver league.