Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Led by the junior tandem of Jeff Short and RaShid Gaston, the Norfolk State men's basketball team opened up MEAC play on Saturday evening with an 85-65 victory over Morgan State at Joseph Echols Hall.
 
Short hit 9-of-10 from the field for a game-high 24 points, while Gaston tallied his fourth straight double-double with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 12 rebounds. NSU scored a season high in points thanks to a 31-of-49 effort (63.3 percent) from the floor, one of the best shooting nights the Spartans have ever had in the Division I era.
 
The win moved NSU's overall record to 5-4 and 1-0 in the MEAC.
 
Aside from 20 turnovers, there was much to like about NSU's night, especially after the Spartans began to pull ahead late in the first stanza. They led by 12 at the half and by at least eight points throughout the second half.
 
The Bears (1-7, 0-1 MEAC) held the lead at 29-28 following an 8-2 run, but with less than six minutes to go in the half, NSU turned the tables to close out the first part of the game.
 
Senior Jamel Fuentes found Gaston for an easy dunk with 5:10 on the clock to give the Spartans the lead back. That bucket started a 13-0 run that lasted the rest of the first half, putting NSU up 41-29 at the break. Morgan State missed its last five shots of the half, went 0-of-4 from the free throw line and had three turnovers in the last two minutes to fall behind at intermission.
 
Short had 17 points at the half, while Gaston nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
MSU's Blake Bozeman hit a 3-pointer to start the second half to finally end that long scoring drought for the Bears. A layup by junior D'Shon Taylor put the Spartans up by 13, but Bozeman answered a short time later with a trey and then a pair of free throws, both times getting Morgan State to within eight. The latter made it 53-45 with 12:18 to go.
 
Short hit a trey and two free throws, and then Taylor converted a traditional 3-point play for a 16-point edge. The Spartan run eventually stretched to 18-6 on a tough spin-move layup by senior LaTre'e Russell, giving them a 74-52 lead with 5:03 left. NSU led by as much as 22 late in the half.
 
Taylor also reached double figures on the night with 10 points while adding five boards. Senior Malik Thomas contributed nine points and six rebounds, helping NSU finish with a 41-26 edge on the glass. Of MSU's 26 rebounds, though, 15 came on the offensive side of the ball.
 
For the third game in a row, the Spartans had a big edge in points in the paint, this time outscoring MSU 44-24.
 
It did not take long for teams to get the scoring going, as each squad had a pair of buckets within the first minute-plus of action. Short drained a 3-pointer and then a 14-foot baseline jumper as NSU got into double digits just two and a half minutes into play. After MSU took the lead momentarily, Short got it right back with another jumper to make it 19-18 at the 11:57 mark, giving the junior 11 points in the game already.
 
The Spartans took a six-point advantage on another basket by Short, but the Bears again went up by one, 29-28, following an 8-2 run. From there, NSU basically controlled the rest of the game.
 
Cedric Blossom led Morgan State with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Bozeman added 11. MSU shot 21-of-61 (34.4 percent) overall, including and 8-of-25 effort from beyond the arc. The Spartans on the other hand converted on 4-of-8 attempts from the 3-point line.
 
Morgan State did outscore the Spartans 22-12 in points off turnovers, as NSU had 20 compared to just 12 for the Bears. But the Spartans also shot 19-of-23 from the free throw line, while Morgan State hit just 15-of-28.
 
NSU's 63.3 shooting clip stands as the third-best in the D-I era.
 
The Spartans will host Coppin State Monday at 7 p.m. in another MEAC matchup.