Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Call the Norfolk State men's basketball team the cardiac kids. After their performance in the Saint Peter's division of the Barclays Center Classic on Saturday evening at the Yanitelli Center, it is well deserved.
The Spartans used a huge 19-0 run late in the game, fueled by some outstanding defensive pressure, and then withstood a late barrage of 3-pointers by host Saint Peter's to claim the divisional championship trophy with a 60-58 victory.
Much like NSU's win on Friday when the Spartans fell behind by 16 but rallied to win in overtime, Saturday's matchup again gave fans plenty of drama late. The Spartans seemed unable to cut into an eight-point deficit, as Saint Peter's led by at least that much for most of the second half. Then, momentum completely swung the other way.
Down 48-37 with less than seven minutes left, the Spartans used their defense to spark that unbelievable 19-0 run, holding Saint Peter's to without a score for six minutes. Up 56-48 with a minute left, NSU seemingly was well on its way to the victory. But the Peacocks made it interesting to say the least.
Travis Hester hit a pair of 3-pointers from each corner 13 seconds apart to cut the Spartan lead to four. Tyler Gaskins sank 1-of-2 from the line after a steal, and then he drained a trey from the right corner with 17.9 seconds left on the clock to make it 59-58. After junior
D'Shon Taylor made 1-of-2 from the line with 14.8 seconds to go, Saint Peter's was unable to get a clean look from long range. Gaskins faked a 3, and his last-second baseline jumper from 18 feet out clanked off the rim.
Junior
Jeff Short was named the tournament MVP after scoring a game-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go with six rebounds. Junior
RaShid Gaston also earned all-tournament honors after tallying his second straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The duo combined for all but two of the team's points during that 19-0 spurt.
Near the start of the run, Short finished a traditional 3-point play on a fastbreak with less than five and a half minutes left to get NSU to within five. Gaston converted a layup off an offensive rebound and hit a tough baseline jumper from 12 feet out with two defenders draped all over him. Now down by just one, NSU (4-3) took the lead with 3:04 left when Short made a layup on another fastbreak.
A tip-in and a layup by Gaston was followed by two free throws by Taylor with 1:28 left. After Short sank 1-of-2 from the line with 1:05 to go for a 56-48 lead, Saint Peter's (2-5) began its last-minute comeback.
The Peacocks had 12 turnovers in the second half, but they posted a 12-of-22 performance from beyond the arc. NSU, on the other hand, outscored Saint Peter's 20-6 in points in the paint and 20-13 in points off turnovers.
The Spartans only had two less giveaways than the Peacocks (15-13).
A day after falling behind by double digits right away, the Spartans reversed fortunes and built a 13-3 lead to start the game. Short hit a trey from the left corner and senior
Jamel Fuentes sank a tough bank shot down low to cap that early spurt. The Peacocks answered with an 11-2 run before freshman
Zaynah Robinson got the kind roll around the rim on his long jumper at 9:27.
Saint Peter's eventually took the lead at 18-17 on a jumper by Marvin Dominique. The Spartans could only must two baskets in the last 15 minutes of the half, and none in the last nine minutes. The Peacocks built their lead to 27-20 at the break thanks to six 3-pointers in that first stanza.
Short drained a trey from the left corner at 15:49 of the second half to end a nearly 13-and-a-half minute field-goal drought for the Spartans. The Peacocks were up by as much as 14 during that time as they also scored the first seven points of the second half.
Taylor added 14 points for NSU, which also got all but two points from its starting five. The Spartans shot 19-of-43 (44.2 percent) for the game, compared to 18-of-40 (45.0 percent) for the Peacocks.
NSU went 13-of-19 from the foul line in the second half and 18-of-25 for the game. Saint Peter's shot just 10-of-16 for the game.
Dominique led the Peacocks with 17 points.
NSU will next play at Hofstra on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
