Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Monday, Jan. 19; 8 p.m.
NSU vs. North Carolina A&T, Joseph Echols Hall
Radio: Star 1310 AM, Live Audio | Hot 91.1 FM, Live Audio
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team will look to bounce back from a loss on Saturday when the Spartans take on North Carolina A&T on Monday at 8 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.

NSU will look to maintain its standing in the conference after dropping a 60-56 contest to first-place North Carolina Central on Saturday. The Spartans (11-9 overall) are tied for second place in the MEAC at 4-1 with Hampton, which hosts NCCU on Monday.

Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on Star 1310 AM as well as Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon and Terrell Ducre' 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
NSU owns a slight edge in the all-time series with North Carolina A&T by a 22-20 margin thanks to three straight victories over the Aggies. The two teams did not play last year for the first time since 1997-98, the first season for NSU in Division I.

About North Carolina A&T
The Aggies defeated Hampton on Saturday, 64-61, to improve to 2-3 in the MEAC and 5-14 overall. It has been the Bruce Beckford show for A&T, as the senior averages teams bests of 15.9 points and 7.7 rebounds, both more than twice as much as the next closest teammate. Arthurs Bremers and Khary Doby tally 7.8 and 7.6 points per game, respectively, for an Aggie offense that scores just 58.5 per game. North Carolina A&T shoots just 39.8 percent overall and 28.4 percent from 3-point range. The Aggies also average 17 turnovers per game.

Last Time Out
Jeff Short scored a career-high 31 points, but he provided more than half of NSU's offense in a 60-56 loss to North Carolina Central on Saturday at Echols Hall. The Spartans only led for 30 seconds in the first half and were down by 10 early in the second. NSU used an 8-0 run to close the gap, and it eventually pulled ahead by two, 47-45, with less than nine minutes in the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers from NCCU helped the Eagles go ahead by five before NSU made one last attempt. Short hit two free throws and an easy fastbreak layup to cut the deficit to 56-55 with a minute left, but the Eagles scored on their next possession and were able to hold on. NSU hit just 1-of-16 from 3-point range, compared to 7-of-18 from NCCU. D'Shon Taylor had 10 points for the Spartans.

Player Tidbits
Jeff Short
 • 24.0 points, 57.4 percent shooting, 43.6 percent 3-point shooting, 83.0 free throw shooting last nine games; Has led the team in scoring seven of those nine games
 • Also averaging 22.9 points (57.1 % shooting, 43.3 % 3-pointer, 81.1 % free throws) last 12 games
 • Has scored at least 15 points in 15 straight games
 • Career-high 31 points vs. NCCU; 11th 20-point game of season and 2nd 30-point contest (30 at JMU)
 • Nine 20-point games in last 12 contests
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in scoring (20.2), 2nd in 3-point field goal percentage (41.6), 3rd in 3-point field goals (2.4) and free throw % (84.2); 5th in field goal % (51.5) and 7th in minutes (33.7)
 • Stands 15th in the nation in scoring (20.2); Also ranks in total points (3, 404), total field goals (5, 136), field goal percentage (61, 51.5), free throw percentage (71, 84.2), 3-point field goals per game (122, 2.35) and minutes (150, 33:42)

RaShid Gaston
 • 21.5 points on 18-of-23 field goals with 12.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games from Jan. 10-12
 • 12 10+ rebound games in last 15 contests
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in rebounds (9.8) and defensive rebounds (6.6), 3rd in field goal % (59.9), 4th in offensive rebounds (3.2) and 8th in scoring (14.3) and blocks (1.2)
 • Stands 9th in the nation in double-doubles (10); Also ranks in field goal % (10, 59.9), total rebounds (14, 176), rebounding (20, 9.8), defensive rebounds (26, 6.61), offensive rebounds (47, 3.17), blocks (205, 1.17) and scoring (245, 14.3)
 • Ranks 32nd in NCAA Division I in career field goal percentage (.554), 38th in rebounding average (7.3) and 42nd in double-doubles (15)
 • Stands 9th in NSU records with a .554 career shooting percentage

Jamel Fuentes
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in assists (4.5) and assist-turnover ratio (2.0)
 • Stands 82nd in the nation in assists (4.5) and 109th in assist-turnover ratio (2.00)
 • Ranks 13th in NCAA Division I in career assists (500), 15th in assist-turnover ratio (1.92), 45th in games played (119) and 50th in assist average (4.20)
 • Ranks 3rd all-time at NSU in assists with 500 and 1st among D-I players; Needs three more to move into second place
 • Stands 6th in games played (119) at NSU and 14th in career steals (135); Needs one more steal to move into a tie for 11th place

D'Shon Taylor
 • Ranks 3rd in the MEAC in 3-point field goal % (40.2), 10th in minutes (30.7), 13th in scoring (12.6) and 15th in 3-point field goals (1.7) and field goal % (43.5)
 • Career-high 25 points at B-CU; Tied career high with five 3-pointers

Malik Thomas
 • 3.0 blocks and 2.5 assists last four games
 • Ranks 12th in the MEAC in blocks (0.9), 18th in rebounding (5.1) and 28th in scoring (9.4)
 • Career-high five blocks at B-CU

Jordan Butler
 • 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks last five games; 4.6 boards and 1.6 blocks last seven contests
 • Ranks 7th in the MEAC in blocks (1.2) and 200th in the nation (1.20)

LaTre'e Russell
 • Tied career high with four rebounds vs. NCCU

Zaynah Robinson
 • Tied career high with four rebounds vs. NCCU

MEAC Standings
The Spartans are tied for second near the top of the standings with Hampton at 4-1, while North Carolina Central stands in first at 5-0. UMES is nipping at the heels at 3-1, while Delaware State (2-1) and South Carolina State (3-2) are also schools above .500 in MEAC play so far.

Winning Big in the MEAC
The Spartans have averaged 76.6 points in MEAC games so far this year while shooting 53.1 percent overall and 38.6 percent from 3-point range. NSU has outrebounded those four schools by an average of 8.2 boards per contest while also holding them to 35.6 percent shooting and 24.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Best in the Conference
Since the start of the 2011-12 season, NSU is 44-9 in regular season conference play, second in the MEAC over that period of time behind North Carolina Central (45-8). Counting MEAC tournament games, the Spartans are 49-11, while the Eagles are 49-10 during that time.

MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank No. 1 in the MEAC in rebounding margin (+4.9) and defensive rebound percentage (71.2). They also stand second in scoring margin (+3.4), field goal percentage (45.4), blocks (5.1), assist-turnover ratio (0.9) and defensive rebounds (25.9), as well as third in scoring offense (68.5), 3-point field goal percentage (34.5) and assists (12.9).

NSU is one of two teams in the MEAC with four players in the top 30 in scoring.

Block Party
The Spartans had 10 blocks against Princeton on Jan. 6, the most since tallying 10 against Navy on Jan. 5, 2013. Over the last eight contests, the Spartans are averaging 7.5 blocks per game and have outblocked the opposition by a collective 60-26 margin.

Winning the Rebounding Battle
The Spartans have had the rebounding edge or been even on the glass in 16 of the 20 games this year. NSU outrebounded 11 straight teams from Nov. 22-Dec. 22 and has been even or ahead in the rebounding column in 15 of the last 17 contests. Dating back to last season, it also includes 27 of the last 32 opponents.

On the season, the Spartans have a +4.9 rebounding margin.

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank 37th in the nation in blocks (5.1) as well as in the top 150 in total rebounds (9, 739), rebound margin (54, +4.9), defensive rebounds (64, 25.85), total rebounds per game (81, 36.95), field goal percentage (85, 45.4), field goal percentage defense (97, 40.6) and scoring margin (148, +3.5).

On Fire
The Spartans have shot at least 44 percent in 11 of the last 15 contests. NSU's current 45.4 percent clip from the field is a little less than last year's 46.5 shooting percentage, the best since the Spartans connected on 48.1 percent of their shots in 1998-99. The team's current 34.5 percent 3-point shooting is also a little less than last year's 35.2 percent clip, the best since 1998-99 (35.7).

The Turnover Battle
NSU is currently averaging 13.8 giveaways per contest this season. The school record for fewest turnovers per game was set in 1987-88 at 13.1. Including last year, only four times since 1978-79, when the stat was first kept, has NSU had less than 14 turnovers per game.

In six of the last seven games, though, NSU has had the same amount or more turnovers than the opposition.

Balanced Scoring?
NSU has four players averaging better than nine points per game, including leading scorer Jeff Short (20.2) as well as RaShid Gaston (14.3), D'Shon Taylor (12.6) and Malik Thomas (9.4). After those four, though, the next highest scorer is Malik Gray and Jordan Butler at 2.6 points. Six players have tallied between 1.8 and 2.6 points per contest. A year after losing nearly 80 percent of its scoring from its senior class, NSU is now getting 79.8 percent of its scoring (1093-of-1370 points) from just four players.

Better After the Break
NSU has scored more points in the second half than the first half in 13 of the last 17 games.

Specialty Stats
NSU has outscored the other team by an average of 6.4 more points in the paint (30.3-23.9). On the year, NSU has outscored or been even against 16 of its 20 opponents in points in the paint, including 11 straight from Nov. 22-Dec. 22. The Spartans have attempted 86 more shots from inside the 3-point line than opponents on the season.

On the other side, in 14 of NSU's 20 games this year, opponents have made the same amount or more 3-pointers thanks to 89 more attempts on the season.

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 7.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 blocks this season, including a 18-point, 13-rebound effort against Boston on Dec. 23.

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 16.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game for Moncada Solar Agrigento of the A2 Gold league, while Deloach is tallying 15.2 points, 5.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest for Liomatic Viola Reggio Calabria of the A2 Silver league. Hawkins joined Jazz-Diremta Kaunas this year, where he is averaging 16.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals.