Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Monday, Dec. 22; 7 p.m.
NSU at James Madison, JMU Convocation Center
Radio: Star 1310 AM, Live Audio | Hot 91.1 FM, Live Audio
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State men's basketball will play the first of six straight games on the road beginning on Monday. The Spartans will face James Madison at 7 p.m. at the JMU Convocation Center in their last game before the holiday break.

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.

Series History
NSU has faced James Madison twice in their all-time series history, both wins by the Dukes on their home court. JMU won 91-69 in NSU's first season in Division I in 1997-98. The Dukes also won the last meeting on Dec. 2, 2009, 72-64.

About James Madison
The Dukes fell by an 80-71 score on Saturday at home against High Point, dropping their overall record to 7-4 on the season. Jackson Kent and Yohanny Dalembert lead the way with 11.5 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Ron Curry (9.7 points, 4.9 assists, 4.0 rebounds) and Winston Grays (9.4 points) also contribute, with Dalembert also tallying a team-best 5.6 rebounds and Kent the team's most lethal 3-point shooter. The Dukes shoot 45 percent overall but just 32 percent from beyond the arc. James Madison turns the ball over nearly 15 times per game.

Last Time Out
Jeff Short and RaShid Gaston again reached the 20-point plateau, leading NSU to an 81-62 win over Northern Arizona on Friday night at Joseph Echols Hall. Short scored a game-high 25 points, while Gaston added 20 points and 11 rebounds. NSU outscored the Lumberjacks by 18 points in the first half on the way to shooting 57 percent overall for the game on 27-of-47 field goal attempts. The Spartans also connected on 7-of-15 from long range. D'Shon Taylor added 13 points, while Malik Thomas totaled eight points and 11 boards.

Player Tidbits
RaShid Gaston
 • Averaging 18.0 points on 63.8 percent shooting with 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists last eight games
 • Eight straight games with 10+ rebounds, the most in the Division I era
 • Four 20-point games in last six contests
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in offensive rebounds (3.8), 2nd in rebounds (9.6), 3rd in field goal % (60.0) and scoring (15.7) and 4th in defensive rebounds (5.8)
 • Stands 4th in the nation in double-doubles (7); Also ranks in offensive rebounds (18, 3.82), rebounding (21, 9.6), field goal % (23, 60.0), defensive rebounds (63, 5.82) and scoring (158, 15.7)
 • Ranks 47th in NCAA Division I in career double-doubles (12),
 • Stands 12th in NSU records with a .548 career shooting percentage

Jeff Short
 • 20.8 points, 56.7 percent shooting, 45.2 percent 3-point shooting and 1.8 assists last eight games
 • Has scored in double figures in eight straight games
 • 6th 20-point game of season, and 5th in the past seven, with 25 vs. Northern Arizona
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in scoring (18.5), 3rd in 3-point field goals (2.3) and free throw % (85.7), 4th in 3-point field goal % (42.9) 6th in field goal % (49.7) and 8th in minutes (32.4)
 • Stands 43rd in the nation in scoring (18.5); Also ranks in free throw percentage (73, 85.7), field goal percentage (117, 49.7), 3-point field goals per game (139, 2.31) and minutes (225, 32:23)

Jamel Fuentes
 • 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists last three games
 • 6.0 assists last eight games
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.1) and 2nd in assists (5.4)
 • Stands 41st in the nation in assists (5.4) and 123rd in assist-turnover ratio (2.10)
 • Ranks 11th in NCAA Division I in career assists (479), 14th in assist-turnover ratio (1.92), 43rd in games played (112) and 44th in assist average (4.28)
 • Ranks 3rd all-time at NSU in assists with 479 and 1st among D-I players; Needs 24 more to move into second place
 • Stands 15th at NSU in career steals (130); Needs three more to move into 14th place

Malik Thomas
 • 3rd double-digit rebounding game of season with 11 vs. Northern Arizona
 • Ranks 10th in the MEAC in defensive rebounds (4.1)
 • Missed the U.Va.-Wise game with a sprained knee

D'Shon Taylor
 • 18.3 points, 25-44 FG, 14-24 3-Pt, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists last four games
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in 3-point field goal % (45.8) and 9th in scoring (13.1) and field goal percentage (47.30

Jordan Butler
 • Ranks tied for 7th in the MEAC in blocks (1.0)

Road Trekking
Beginning with Monday's matchup at JMU, 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. After playing four of five games at Echols Hall, the Spartans will go four weeks without a home game.

On Fire
The Spartans are currently shooting a combined 51.5 percent (222-of-431) over the last eight contests, including 51-of-126 (40.5 percent) from 3-point range. NSU has hit better than 50 percent overall in both halves in four of the past five games (Morgan State, Coppin State, U.Va.-Wise and Northern Arizona).

Get to 20
Jeff Short (25) and RaShid Gaston (20) both reached the 20-point plateau against Northern Arizona, the fourth time in five games two players scored 20 or more points. Short and Gaston did so against Morgan State (24, 20) and U.Va.-Wise (27, 20), 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 eight straight games and in 10 contests overall this year for a total of 14 20-point games. The Spartans have not had eight 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 10 contests, 11 of the 13 games this year, and in 22 of the last 25 games dating back to last season. NSU is a collective +88 in rebounding margin over the last 10 games alone, including a +20 effort against U.Va.-Wise. It marked the largest margin for the Spartans since outrebounding Coppin State by 23 on Feb. 2, 2013. On the season, the Spartans have a +6.3 rebounding margin.

Balanced Scoring?
NSU has four players averaging double figures, including leading scorer Jeff Short (18.5) as well as RaShid Gaston (15.7), D'Shon Taylor (13.1) and Malik Thomas (11.7). After those four, though, the next highest scorer is Jamel Fuentes at 2.9 points. Six players have tallied between 2.1 and 2.9 points per contest. A year after losing nearly 80 percent of its scoring from its senior class, NSU is now getting 78.2 percent of its scoring (723-of-924 points) from just four players.

MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank No. 1 in the MEAC in scoring offense (71.1), 3-point field goal percentage (36.6), opponent rebounding (30.4) and defensive rebound percentage (72.6). They also stand second in scoring margin (+6.6), field goal percentage (46.3), rebounding margin (6.3), assists (13.8) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0), as well as third in rebounding (36.7) and defensive rebounds (25.3).

Doubling Up
The Spartans have had 11 double-double performances in the last 11 games, including five straight from RaShid Gaston from Nov. 28-Dec. 8.

Good from 3
Norfolk State has made a 3-pointer in 160 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 9.1 more points in the paint (30.9-21.8). The Spartans have outscored their last six opponents 242-144 in that category. On the year, NSU has outscored 11 of its 13 opponents in points in the paint, including the last 10. The Spartans have attempted 103 more shots from 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 13 games thanks to 72 more attempts on the season.

The Spartans are outscoring teams 16.5-13.7 in points off turnovers on the year, which includes an average of 21.0 points in the last two games. They are also averaging 8.1 fastbreak points over the last eight games.

After setting the Division I record in 2013-14 for fewest turnovers per game at 13.4, NSU is currently averaging 13.5 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 nine of the last 10 games.

Opponents have shot a collective 145-of-332 (43.7 percent) in the first half but 134-of-346 (38.7 percent) in the second half and overtime this season.

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank 54th in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.3) as well as in the top 140 in field goal percentage (82, 46.3), 3-point field goal percentage (96, 36.6), defensive rebounds (114, 25.31), scoring margin (115, +6.6), socring offense (124, 71.1), assists (124, 13.8), win-loss percentage (132, 61.5), blocks (140, 3.8) and field goal percentage defense (140, 41.2).

Ahead at the Half
The Spartans are 60-8 since the start of the 2011-12 season when leading or tied at the half. They also have two wins this year when trailing at the half after winning just one game last year.

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 8.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocks in 14 games this season, including a 14-point, 10-rebound effort at Atlanta on Dec. 12.

Spartans in the Pros
Aside from Kyle O'Quinn, NSU has three other former players competing professionally. Both Pendarvis Williams and Michael Deloach are currently in Italy, while Malcolm Hawkins is competing in Lithuania. Williams is averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game for Moncada Solar Agrigento of the A2 Gold league, while Deloach is tallying 14.2 points, 5.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest for Liomatic Viola Reggio Calabria of the A2 Silver league. Hawkins recently joined Jazz-Diremta Kaunas, where he's averaging 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals.