Box Score ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Norfolk State shot an absurd 14-of-18 in the second half on the way to a 76-63 win over South Carolina State in men's basketball action on Saturday evening at the S-H-M Memorial Center.
 
The Spartans connected on 29-of-44 overall for the game, a 65.9 percent clip that surpassed the previous Division I school record. NSU's top four scorers led the way, with junior Jeff Short totaling 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
 
He scored 11 points in the second half, when the Spartans outscored the Bulldogs by 10 after holding just a three-point lead at the break. NSU, though, never trailed throughout the game, and that three-point margin was as close as S.C. State got to overtaking the Spartans.
 
The victory pushed NSU's record to 13-9 overall and 6-1 in the MEAC. The Spartans maintained sole possession of second place in the conference standings. S.C. State fell to 6-15 overall, 4-3 in MEAC play.
 
Senior Malik Thomas broke out of a slump by hitting 5-of-6 overall, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, for a 16-point night. It marked his highest scoring output since tallying a career-high 21 against St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 28.
 
NSU certainly came out of the gates quickly, but S.C. State managed to scratch and claw its way back from a 14-point hole in the first half. Up by just three at the break, the Spartans were able to pull ahead in the second half despite getting in their own way half the time.
 
After some back and forth action early in the second half, NSU used an 8-0 run to pull ahead by 11, 49-38. Thomas closed out the run with a trey and then a pair of free throws at the 14:20 mark. After a pair of nice alley-oops by the Bulldogs, the Spartans scored eight straight to jump ahead, 57-42. Thomas and freshman Zaynah Robinson each hit shots from long range to get the NSU lead to 15.
 
S.C. State responded by going on an 8-2 run, capped by another 3-pointer from Karon Wright, to make it 59-50 with 7:38 left. Wright shot 4-of-13 from 3-point range for the night and finished with 14 points.
 
Thomas, though, did a little finishing of his own, this time closing out a 10-3 NSU run with a jumper from the free throw line and a 3-pointer from the left wing off a loose ball. That put the Spartans up 69-53 with four minutes to go, the largest lead of the game, and the Bulldogs never got the deficit back to single digits.
 
The Spartans hit 7-of-13 from 3-point range, including 5-of-6 in the second half. However, they had to work around a season-high 22 turnovers. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, had just eight giveaways and outscored NSU 29-12 in points off turnovers.
 
NSU's 65.9 percent shooting clip is slightly better than the previous D-I school record of 65.7 percent (23-of-35) set against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 27, 2011. Saturday also marked the third time this season the Spartans have shot better than 60 percent in a game.
 
Junior D'Shon Taylor added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and eight rebounds for NSU. Junior RaShid Gaston posted his 11^th double-double of the year with 13 points on 5-of-7 shots and 11 boards.
 
The duo helped the Spartans finish with a 40-31 advantage in rebounds. Although the Bulldogs held an 18-7 edge on the offensive glass, they turned that offensive rebounding into just 12 points. NSU, meanwhile, outscored S.C. State by a 39-28 margin in points in the paint.
 
Short also added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
S.C. State connected on 22-of-67 overall (32.8 percent), including 6-of-27 from 3-point land. Edward Stephens had a team-high 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting for the Bulldogs.
 
Taylor hit a pair of buckets less than 30 seconds apart, and junior LaTre'e Russell converted a layup and sank 1-of-2 from the free throw line as NSU got off to a strong start at the beginning of the contest. The lead eventually reached 14-1 on a dunk by Gaston at the 13:25 mark.
 
The Bulldogs made their first bucket at 13:02 as they scored seven of the next nine points to climb back into the game. Gaston and Thomas completed 3-point plays on NSU's end, but S.C. State got a pair of treys from Wright and a 3-point play from Gabe McCray to jump start its offense.
 
Greg Mortimer drained a 3-pointer with 7:38 on the clock to climb to within five at 27-22. The Bulldogs again trailed by just five, 31-26, after Stephens had back-to-back buckets. He hit the fifth 3-pointer of the half for the Bulldogs and also completed the game's fourth 3-point play before the break to cut the Spartan lead to just 35-32 heading into the locker room.
 
Stephens accounted for all 10 points as the Bulldogs closed the half on a 10-4 run.
 
NSU shot 15-of-26 in the first half. Wright added 11 points in the first stanza for the Bulldogs. Taylor, Short and Gaston each had nine points.
 
S.C. State hit 10-of-23 from the free throw line in the second half and 13-of-27 overall.
 
NSU will face Savannah State on Monday at 8 p.m. at Tiger Arena in Savannah, Ga.