Box Score TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The junior duo of RaShid Gaston and Jeff Short turned in a dominating performance in Norfolk State's 75-51 win over Florida A&M in a men's basketball conference matchup on Saturday evening at the Al Lawson Center.
 
Gaston totaled 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting and a career-high 16 rebounds, while Short hit 8-of-11 overall and finished with 21 points. The victory kept NSU in first place in the MEAC at 3-0 while pushing the Spartans' overall record to 10-8.
 
The Spartans were well on their way to breaking a three-game losing streak, holding the Rattlers to just 13 points in the first half on a paltry 4-of-26 shooting (15.4 percent). NSU never trailed and led by as much as 32 in the second half.
 
No other player ended the night in double figures for the Spartans, who nevertheless hit 29-of-53 (54.7 percent) overall. That included a 7-of-19 effort from 3-point range in NSU's first conference game in a month.
 
The Rattlers remained winless on the year at 0-15 overall, 0-2 in the MEAC. They finished with a 20-of-63 (31.7 percent) shooting night, including a 2-of-19 effort from beyond the arc. Florida A&M scored 38 of its 51 points in the second half, when it actually outscored the Spartans by one.
 
Five minutes into the contest, NSU already led 8-0 and was up 14-4 at the 11:20 mark after senior Malik Thomas found Gaston for a fastbreak slam. Up by just 11 with less than eight minutes to go in the half, the Spartans outscored FAMU 17-3 the rest of the stanza. The Rattlers actually missed their last 13 shots and hit 5-of-10 from the free throw line over the last 10 minutes of the half.
 
Short and Gaston combined for 29 points at the break, with the Spartans ahead 38-13.
 
Layups by Gaston and freshman Zaynah Robinson early in the second half stretched the Spartan lead past 30. Florida A&M scored eight straight after Robinson's bucket had put NSU up 51-19 at the 15:42 mark. The Spartans pushed the lead back up to 30, and two free throws by Gaston with a little more than eight minutes to go had NSU ahead again by its largest margin of the game, 32 points at 63-31.
 
The Rattlers eventually cut the deficit to 21 with two minutes left before NSU finished with its 24-point victory.
 
Gaston posted the second-most points in his career, behind his 28-point effort at Hofstra earlier this season. Short, meanwhile, also tallied five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
The Spartans had the big edge on the glass, 45-31, while Florida A&M had just 10 turnovers to 17 for NSU. Neither team shot well from the free throw line, as the Spartans finished 10-of-21 while the Rattlers connected on just 9-of-20.
 
Junior D'Shon Taylor added nine points for NSU. Jorge Rosa and Quentin Bastian led the way for FAMU with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The Spartans earned their biggest win over the Rattlers in six years.
 
NSU will complete a six-game road swing Monday with a contest at Bethune-Cookman beginning at 7:30 p.m.