Monday
NSU vs. Howard, 8 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Radio: WNSB Hot 91.1 FM
Live Stats | Live Video/Audio | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - After completing a four-game road swing with a victory at Morgan State on Saturday, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will return home for the first time in exactly three weeks when the Spartans host Howard on Monday at 8 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.

Series History
NSU has won seven in a row over Howard since a loss in January of 2010, and the Spartans lead the all-time series, 36-9. Five of those last seven wins have been by 10 points or more.

About Howard
The Bison have lost three of their last four and now stand 6-18 overall and 4-5 in MEAC play. James Daniel and Prince Okoroh have provided most of the scoring for Howard, as Daniel leads the league with 20.5 points per game while Okoroh has posted 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds. Howard only averages 61 points a game thanks to a 37.9 percent shooting effort from the floor on the year. The Bison are also prone to turning the ball over, mroe than 16 times a game.

Last Time Out
NSU shut down Morgan State and got a measure of revenge in a 64-53 win over the Bears on Saturday at the Hill Field House. Pendarvis Williams led the Spartans with 16 points and seven boards, and NSU's defensive effort held MSU to just 33.3 percent shooting on the day. The Spartans also got double-digit scoring efforts from Brandon Goode (14 points), RaShid Gaston (11) and Jamel Fuentes (10). Down early in the game, the Spartans used a 13-2 run in the first half to take the lead for good and went up by as much as 15 in the second half.

Player Tidbits
Pendarvis Williams
 • 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals last two games
 • 2.2 steals last five games
 • 52-of-61 from the free throw line in the last 16 games
 • Needs 64 more points to reach No. 19 on the all-time scoring list at NSU
 • Shooting 48.7 percent from the floor this year, including 61.9 percent (86-of-139) from inside the arc
 • One of five all-time NSU players with 1,400 points, 400 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals along with Ralph Tally, Barry Mitchell, Tony Murphy and Michael Deloach
 • Needs 18 more rebounds to reach 500 for his career; would join Tally and Mitchell as only players with 1,400 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals

Brandon Goode
 • 14.0 points on 12-of-17 field goals last two games
 • Has scored in double figures in 15 of last 19 games
 • Shooting 44-of-67 (65.7 percent) in the last nine games
 • Ranks fourth in Division I single-season records with 53 blocks and seventh in all-time single-season records
 • Second all-time at NSU with 133 career blocks behind precedssor Kyle O'Quinn
 • Second in the MEAC in field goal percentage at 61.7 and fifth in blocks at 2.3 and offensive rebounds (2.6)
 • 61.7 percent shooting currently ranks sixth all-time at NSU in season records and third in Division I

Jamel Fuentes
 • 4+ assists last 15 games
 • 2.7 steals last three games
 • Needs 16 more assists to reach fifth place all-time at NSU
 • Sits third in Division I records with 130 assists this year
 • First in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.9) and second in assists (5.7)

Marese Phelps
 • 11-2 assist-turnover ratio last four games
 • 1.9 steals last 11 games

MEAC Standings
The Spartans currently sit in second place in the MEAC standings at 7-2 behind league leader North Carolina Central (8-1). Hampton (7-3) and Savannah State and Morgan State (6-3) sit right behind the Spartans in the standings.

Conference Streak
With one more win, NSU will be guaranteed to finish no worse than .500 in conference play. Since moving to Division I in 1997, the Spartans have yet to finish worse than .500 in the MEAC (except for the transition 1997-98 season, when NSU didn't play a conference schedule). In fact, since the 1953-54 season, NSU has finished with a losing conference record just once (9-10 in 1990-91) in 57 seasons (not counting the independent 1997-98 and 1961-62 seasons).

Senior Leadership
NSU has scored 1,707 points this year, with 1,363 of those points (79.8 percent) coming from NSU's senior class.

Spartans in the MEAC
NSU is 7-2 this year in the MEAC and 36-5 (87.8 winning percentage) since the start of the 2011-12 season.

Ahead at the Half
The Spartans are 29-5 since the start of the 2012-13 season when leading or tied at the half and 49-6 dating back to the 2011-12 season.

Dominating the Inside
Norfolk State has outscored opponents 802-619 in points in the paint, an average of 8.0 points per game. Against Coppin State, the Spartans had a 46-16 edge, while NSU has also outscored East Carolina (50-16) and Stillman (62-26) by large margins. On the flip side, opponents have taken 147 more 3-pointers than NSU this year (6.4 per game).

Good Shootin'
As a team, the Spartans are shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent from 3-point range this year, the best marks in a season since 1998-99 (48.1 percent) and 2006-07 (34.7 percent), respectively. They are also hitting 51.9 percent from inside the arc.

Scoring Offense
NSU's is scoring 74.2 points per game this year, the highest scoring season since averaging 76.0 per game in 1999-2000, and eight points more per game than last year (66.3).

MEAC Rankings
NSU ranks first in the MEAC in scoring offense (74.2), field goal percentage (47.2) and offensive rebound percentage (37.4). The Spartans also stand second in 3-point field goal percentage (34.3), opponent rebounding (33.3), rebounding margin (+1.9), assists (14.1) and assist-turnover ratio (1.1) and third in scoring margin (+0.6).