Box Score ST. THOMAS, USVI – Indiana State hit 10 3-pointers on the way to a 70-61 victory over the Norfolk State men's basketball team on Friday night during the first round of the Paradise Jam at the Sports & Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.
 
The Sycamores committed just six turnovers and held NSU to 34.0 percent shooting on the night. The Spartans were unable to capitalize on their huge edge in rebounding, 47-30, including a 16-8 mark in offensive boards. That allowed them to outscore Indiana State 19-10 in second-chance points.
 
Seniors Charles Oliver and D'Shon Taylor led the Spartans, with Oliver finishing with 16 points and seven boards. Taylor added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 11 rebounds for his fourth career double-double. Sophomore Jordan Butler tallied seven points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks for the Spartans (1-2). He finished one block short of the school record of eight but did tie the Division I record held by Kyle O'Quinn.
 
Indiana State (2-1) was led by Brenton Scott with 16 points and Matt Van Scyoc with 14 points and seven boards. Van Scyoc made 5-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point line. The Sycamores shot 24-of-60 (40.0 percent) overall for the game, compared to NSU's 18-of-53 effort.
 
The Spartans will move on to face Ohio at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday in the next round.
 
NSU never trailed by more than seven points in the first half but did exactly that early in the second stanza.
 
The Sycamores opened up a double digit lead from a five-point halftime edge thanks to eight points from Van Scyoc, including a pair of 3-pointers. Indiana State's eighth trey of the night made it 48-38 at 13:20 after Oliver had scored four straight to get the deficit back into single digits.
 
NSU kept it in single digits, getting to within four at 50-46 when Short made three free throws at 9:44. The Sycamores went nearly three minutes without scoring, allowing NSU to get to within 52-49 on Oliver's layup.
 
With NSU down 56-51, senior Jeff Short got called for a questionable offensive foul, and Scott drained a three on the other end of the floor with 4:23 left. He sank another 3-pointer a short time later, and NSU was never able to recover.
 
The game broke a 31-game double-digit scoring streak for Short.
 
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by the Sycamores gave them an early 12-6 over the Spartans with 13:28 on the clock in the first half. NSU used a 9-2 run to get to within 15-14, with freshman Alex Long's tip-in cutting the deficit to one with 9:14 to go. The Sycamores, though, got a three-point play from Brandon Murphy and a trey from Grant Prusator in the left corner for a 21-14 lead.
 
Taylor single-handily kept NSU close, first completing a three-point play at 7:22 and then a 3-pointer and step back jumper that got the kind roll. He later sank a short baseline jumper at 2:31 to cap a 9-1 run and give the Spartans a 26-25 edge. Indiana State, though, scored the last six points of the half for a 31-26 lead at the break.
 
Taylor had 11 points and seven boards at the half.
 
Indiana State finished 10-of-24 from 3-point range, hitting five 3-pointers in each half. NSU, on the other hand, shot just 2-of-9. The Spartans did benefit from an advantage at the free throw line, hitting 23-of-31 for the contest compared to 12-of-19 for Indiana State.
 
Oliver made 8-of-11 from the charity stripe to go with his 4-of-9 shooting night.