Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Friday, Dec. 19; 7 p.m.
NSU vs. Northern Arizona, Joseph Echols Hall
Radio: Star 1310 AM, Live Audio | Hot 91.1 FM, Live Audio
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - After posting the biggest win in the program's Division I history, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will hold its final home game in nearly a month when the Spartans take on Northern Arizona on Friday. Game time at Joseph Echols Hall is set for 7 p.m.

Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on Star 1310 AM as well as Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon on the call. Live audio is available through the Star 1310 website as well as through the Hot 91.1 website. Both feeds are available on smartphones through the Star 1310 website or through www.TuneIn.com or the TuneIn Radio App (search for "WNSB") for Hot 91.1. Fans can also follow along with the live stats and the live video feed. The live video feed also carries the radio broadcast.

Series History
This will mark the first-ever meeting between Norfolk State and Northern Arizona, the sixth opponent this year (out of eight) that NSU will meet for the first time.

About Northern Arizona
The Lumberjacks own a 4-6 record this year after defeating Saint Mary's on the road on Tuesday, 73-71. Norfolk native Quinton Upshur, a former player at VMI, leads the way with 15.5 points per game. He is joined by Aaseem Dixon (12.8 points) and Kris Yanku (11.4) in double figures. Opponents are shooting nearly 54 percent on attempts from inside the arc but just 27 percent from the 3-point line. The Lumberjacks connect on better than 35 percent beyond the arc, led by Upshur and Dixon, while making 7.7 3-pointer per game. Opponents do score on average nearly six more points per game from the foul line. The Lumberjacks also get production from Jordyn Martin (5.4 points, team-leading 7.0 rebounds), Jaleni Neely (6.6 points, team-leading 2.9 assists) and Ako Kaluna (7.8 points, 4.1 rebounds).

Last Time Out
Norfolk State outscored U.Va.-Wise by 31 points in the second half on the way to an 88-49 win over the Cavaliers last Monday at Joseph Echols Hall. Juniors Jeff Short and RaShid Gaston combined for 35 points in the second half, helping the Spartans finish with their largest margin of victory in the Division I era. Short ended the night with 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while Gaston posted 20 points on 10-of-15 field goals with 14 boards. NSU led by eight points at the break, but the Spartans started the second half on a 20-5 run to put the game away. They finished with a 46-26 edge on the boards while shooting 35-of-65 (53.8 percent) overall.

Player Tidbits
RaShid Gaston
 • Averaging 17.7 points on 53-82 FG with 11.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists last seven games
 • Seven straight games with 10+ rebounds, the most since Kyle O'Quinn had seven straight from Nov. 16-Dec. 3, 2011; No D-I player has ever had eight
 • Tied career high with 14 rebounds vs. U.Va.-Wise
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in offensive rebounds (3.7), 2nd in rebounds (9.5), 3rd in field goal % (60.2), 4th in defensive rebounds (5.8) and 5th in scoring (15.3)
 • Stands 5th in the nation in double-doubles (6); Also ranks in offensive rebounds (19, 3.70), rebounding (27, 9.5), field goal % (29, 60.2), defensive rebounds (63, 5.80) and scoring (180, 15.3)
 • Ranks 12th in NSU records with a .547 career shooting percentage
 • Had five straight double-doubles from Nov. 28-Dec. 8, the first time for an NSU player since Kyle O'Quinn had seven straight from Nov. 16-Dec. 3, 2011
 • The only player along with O'Quinn to have had at least five straight double-doubles in NSU's Division I era

Jeff Short
 • 20.1 points, 50-92 FG, 16-37 3-Pt, 25-31 FT, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists last seven games
 • Has scored in double figures in seven straight games
 • 5th 20-point game of season with 27 vs. U.Va.-Wise
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in scoring (17.9), 3rd in 3-point field goals (2.3) and free throw % (86.3), 4th in 3-point field goal % (41.5) 8th in field goal % (47.7) and 9th in minutes (32.2)
 • Stands 54th in the nation in scoring (17.9); Also ranks in free throw percentage (72, 86.3), field goal percentage (151, 47.7), 3-point field goals per game (155, 2.25) and minutes (241, 32:15)

Jamel Fuentes
 • 5.0 points, 6.0 rebound and 7.5 assists last two games
 • 6.3 assists last seven games
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.2) and 2nd in assists (5.5)
 • Stands 36th in the nation in assists (5.5) and 117th in assist-turnover ratio (2.18)
 • Ranks 10th in NCAA Division I in career assists (475), 13th in assist-turnover ratio (1.93), 43rd in games played (111) and 47th in assist average (4.28)
 • Ranks 3rd all-time at NSU in assists with 475 and 1st among D-I players; Needs 28 more to move into second place
 • Stands 15th at NSU in career steals (129); Needs four more to move into 14th place

Malik Thomas
 • Missed the U.Va.-Wise game with a sprained knee
 • Tied career high with five assists vs. Coppin State

D'Shon Taylor
 • 20.0 points, 21-37 FG, 11-19 3-Pt, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists last 3 games
 • Ranks 3rd in the MEAC in 3-point field goal % (44.2) and 10th in scoring (13.1)
 • Career high 24 points vs. Coppin State, including 19 in 2nd half; Second double-double of the season with 10 boards

Jordan Butler
 • Ranks tied for 8th in the MEAC in blocks (0.9)
 • Career highs of 12 points, five rebounds and three assists vs. U.Va.-Wise

Road Trekking
Following Friday's game, the Spartans will be on the road for six straight games from Dec. 22-Jan. 12, including trips to Baylor, Georgia and the two Florida-based MEAC schools, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman. The contest against Northern Arizona closes out a stretch in which NSU plays four of five games at home. The Spartans will go four weeks without a home game.

On Fire
The Spartans are currently shooting a combined 50.8 percent (195-of-384) over the last seven contests, including 44-of-111 (39.6 percent) from 3-point range.

U.Va.-Wise Tidbits
The 39-point margin of victory stands as the largest in NSU's Division I history and the largest since a 115-65 win over Knoxville College on Jan. 29, 1996. It topped the previous D-I record of 38 set against Pfeiffer earlier this season.

The Spartans connected on 35 field goals against U.Va.-Wise, had 54 points in the second half, scored 48 points in the paint and had 15 fastbreak points. They all stand as the most since a win over Stillman on Nov. 26, 2013. NSU had 41 field goals, 59 points in the second half, 62 points in the paint and 20 fastbreak points that game.

Get to 20
Jeff Short (27) and RaShid Gaston (20) both reached the 20-point plateau against U.Va.-Wise, the third time in four games two players scored 20 or more points. Short (24) and Gaston (20) did so against Morgan State, and D'Shon Taylor (24) and Short (20) accomplishing the same versus Coppin State. It marked the first time NSU had two 20-point performances in back-to-back games since Feb. 20 and 25, 2012 against Longwood and Bethune-Cookman.

NSU has had a 20-point scorer in seven straight games and in nine contests overall this year for a total of 12 20-point games. The Spartans have not had seven straight 20-point performances since they closed out the 2008-09 season with 11 straight.

Winning the Rebounding Battle
The Spartans have had the rebounding edge in the last nine contests, 10 of the 12 games this year, and in 21 of the last 24 games dating back to last season. NSU is a collective +86 in rebounding margin over the last nine games alone, including most recently a +20 effort against U.Va.-Wise. It marked the largest margin in one game for the Spartans since outrebounding Coppin State by 23 on Feb. 2, 2013. On the season, the Spartans have a +6.7 rebounding margin.

Balanced Scoring?
NSU has four players averaging double figures, including leading scorer Jeff Short (17.9) as well as RaShid Gaston (15.3), D'Shon Taylor (13.1) and Malik Thomas (12.0). After those four, though, the next highest scorer is Devonte Banner at 3.0 points. Six players have tallied between 2.1 and 3.0 points per contest. A year after losing nearly 80 percent of its scoring from its senior class, NSU is now getting 77.9 percent of its scoring (657-of-843 points) from just four players.

MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank No. 1 in the MEAC in scoring offense (70.2), 3-point field goal percentage (35.9), opponent rebounding (30.3), rebounding margin (6.7), and defensive rebound percentage (73.3). They also stand second in scoring margin (+5.6), field goal percentage (45.5), assists (14.0) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0), as well as third in defensive rebounds (25.3).

Doubling Up
The Spartans have had 10 double-double performances in the last 10 games, including five straight from RaShid Gaston from Nov. 28-Dec. 8.

Good from 3
Norfolk State has made a 3-pointer in 159 straight games, dating back to a contest at South Carolina State on Jan. 25, 2010, when NSU finished 0-of-17 from 3-point range.

Specialty Stats
NSU has outscored the other team by an average of 9.8 more points in the paint (31.2-21.4). The Spartans have outscored their last five opponents 214-118 in that category. On the year, NSU has outscored 10 of its 12 opponents in points in the paint, including the last nine. The Spartans have attempted 112 more shots inside the 3-point line than opponents on the season.

On the other side, opponents have made more 3-pointers in nine of NSU's 12 games thanks to 72 more attempts on the season.

The Spartans are outscoring teams 16.1-13.9 in points off turnovers on the year. They are also averaging 8.4 fastbreak points over the last seven games.

After setting the Division I record in 2013-14 for fewest turnovers per game at 13.4, NSU is currently averaging 13.6 giveaways per contest this season. The school record for fewest turnovers per game was set in 1987-88 at 13.1. Only four times since 1978-79, when the stat was first kept, has NSU had less than 14 turnovers per game.

Better After the Break
NSU has scored more points in the second half than the first half in eight of the last nine games.

Opponents have shot a collective 138-of-302 (45.7 percent) in the first half but 121-of-320 (37.8 percent) in the second half and overtime this season.

Opponents have scored 3.8 more points in the first half than the second half this year, after scoring on average 6.7 more points in the second half last year and 7.5 more points in the second half in 2012-13.

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank 52nd in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.7) as well as in the top 150 in field goal percentage (106, 45.5), assists (106, 14.0), defensive rebounds (113, 35.33), 3-point field goal percentage (118, 35.9), offensive rebounds (133, 11.58), assist-turnover ratio (135, 1.03), scoring margin (139, +5.6), scoring offense (144, 70.3) and scoring defense (147, 64.7).

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank 53rd in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.7) as well as in the top 150 in field goal percentage (102, 45.5), assists (109, 14.0), 3-point field goal percentage (117, 35.9), defensive rebounds (117, 35.33), assist-turnover ratio (135, 1.03), offensive rebounds (139, 11.58), scoring margin (142, +5.6), scoring offense (143, 70.3) and scoring defense (146, 64.7).

Shore Up That 'D'
On the year, the Spartans have had more fouls in eight of the 12 games. They did finish with just eight against U.Va.-Wise, the fewest in a game in the Division I era and the fewest since committing five against Livingstone on Feb. 21, 1990.

U.Va.-Wise hit 1-of-4 from the free throw line. Since the 1989-90 season, no opponent has finished with fewer free throws made or attempted.