Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Saturday, Feb. 21, 4 p.m.
NSU at Coppin State, Physical Education Complex
Radio: Star 1310 AM, Live Audio | Hot 91.1 FM, Live Audio
Live Stats | Game Notes

BALTIMORE, Md. - Looking to break a two-game losing streak, its first in conference play in three years, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will head back up to Baltimore for a Saturday afternoon matchup with Coppin State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Physical Education Complex.

NSU fell last Saturday at Morgan State after the Bears erased a 15-point second half deficit. That dropped NSU's record to 9-3 in conference play and 16-11 overall. The Spartans sit in second place, two games ahead in the loss column of five other teams. After Coppin State, NSU will play three of those five teams in the last three games of the regular season.

Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on Star 1310 AM and Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon 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 here.

Series History
NSU won the first contest this season against Coppin State, 88-69, the biggest win over the Eagles in 34 games, dating back to the very first meeting in 1982-83. The Spartans now own a 24-11 all-time record against CSU, have won five straight overall against the Eagles and six straight in Baltimore.

About Coppin State
The Eagles knocked off Delaware State on Monday on the road to improve to 6-20 overall and 5-8 in conference play. CSU loves to get up and down the court, averaging a league-best 71.2 points per game. The Eagles do, however, give up nearly 82 points while allowing opponents to shoot better than 47 percent and outrebound them by more than 10 boards per game. Sterling Smith leads the way with 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting better than 47 percent overall and 42 percent from 3-point range. The Eagles tally more than nine 3-pointers per game. Along with Smith, Taariq Cephas (12.0 points, 4.9 assists) and Arnold Fripp (11.8 points, 5.8 rebounds) also score in double figures. CSU hits less than 40 percent from the field but almost 35 percent from 3-point range.

Last Time Out
NSU was up by 15 in the second half, but Morgan State used a 23-7 run to take the lead. A layup by Jamel Fuentes and two free throws by Jeff Short put the Spartans ahead by one with less than a minute to go. Fuentes, though, got called for a foul on a rebound attempt, and MSU's Cliff Cornish sank 2-of-2 from the line. Short's layup with less than five seconds to go was blocked, and MSU held on for the 73-70 win. A total of 49 fouls were called, and the teams combined for 65 free throw attempts. NSU shot 30-of-39 from the foul line, with Short (12-of-14) and D'Shon Taylor (10-of-12) accounting for most of those makes. Short finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while Taylor added 15 points and six boards.

Player Tidbits
Jeff Short
 • Averaging 19.3 points, 53.2 percent shooting, 36.8 percent 3-point shooting, 81.1 percent free throw shooting, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in MEAC games
 • Averaging 2.7 assists last seven games and 5.2 rebounds in last six games
 • Shooting 21-of-23 from the free throw line the last two games, including career-high 12-of-14 at Morgan State
 • First career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds at Morgan State
 • Tallied at least 15 points in 21 of last 22 games
 • Has scored in double figures in all but one game this year
 • Shooting 115-of-201 (57.2 percent) from 2-point range
 • Has sank a 3-pointer in all but three games this year
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in scoring (19.3), 5th in free throw percentage (83.1), 3-point field goal percentage (39.2) and minutes (33.6), 7th in 3-point field goals (2.1) and 8th in field goal percentage (49.7)
 • Stands 23rd in the nation in scoring (19.3); Also ranks in total points (13, 521), total field goals (21, 171), free throw percentage (83, 83.1), field goal percentage (87, 49.7), minutes (172, 33:33) and 3-point field goals per game (191, 2.07)
 • Ranks 15th in the nation among guards in shooting percentage; Would rank 49th in 3-point field goal percentage but does not have enough makes on the year
 • Stands 9th in NSU D-I single season records in points scored (521); Also stands 3rd in free throw percentage (.831), 5th in scoring average (19.3), 7th in free throws (123), 9th in 3-point field goal percentage (.392), 10th in 3-point field goals (56) and field goals (171), 11th in 3-point field goal attempts (143), 12th in free throw attempts (148) and 15th in field goal percentage (.497); Also ranks 5th in free throw percentage for overall single season records (See table page 6)

RaShid Gaston
 • Averaging 16.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 blocks and shooting 67.2 percent in MEAC games
 • 65-of-97 field goals (67.0 percent) last 10 games
 • 15 10+ rebound games this season
 • Has at least one block in 13 straight games
 • Has scored in double figures in seven straight and 10 of the last 11 games
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in rebounds (9.5), defensive rebounds (6.4) and field goal percentage (61.4), 3rd in offensive rebounds (3.1) and 8th in scoring (14.7) and blocks (1.2)
 • Stands 7th in the nation in field goal percentage (61.4) and 15th in double-doubles (13); Also ranks in total rebounds (28, 237), rebounding (25, 9.5), defensive rebounds (33, 6.36), offensive rebounds (49, 3.12), blocks (179, 1.24) and scoring (212, 14.7)
 • Ranks 33rd in NCAA Division I in career field goal percentage (.566), 37th in double-doubles (18), 41st in rebounding average (7.4) and 128th in rebounds (555)
 • Stands 7th in NSU records with a .566 career shooting percentage and 19th in blocks (61) (See table page 7)
 • Ranks 3rd in NSU D-I single season records in field goal percentage (.614), 4th in rebounding average (9.5), 5th in rebounds (237) and 11th in blocks (31); Also ranks 7th in field goal percentage for overall single season records (See table page 6)

Jamel Fuentes
 • Tied season high with 10 points at Morgan State; Also had 10 points at Savannah State
 • Ranks 3rd in the MEAC in assists (4.2) and 6th in assist-turnover ratio (1.9)
 • Stands 96th in the nation in assists (4.2) and 129th in assist-turnover ratio (1.90)
 • Ranks 15th in NCAA Division I in career assists (524), 25th in assist-turnover ratio (1.90) and 56th in assist average (4.16)
 • Ranks 2nd all-time at NSU in assists with 524 (See table page 7) behind Billy Walker (1980-85)
 • Stands 3rd in games played (126) at NSU and 10th in career steals (143)
 • Ranks 4th in NSU D-I single season records with a 4.23 assist average as well as 5th in assists (110) (See table page 6)

D'Shon Taylor
 • Averaging 13.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and shooting 46.6 percent overall and 37.9 percent from 3-point range in MEAC games
 • Career-high 10-of-12 from the free throw line at Morgan State
 • 1+ blocks in seven of last eight games
 • Ranks 8th in the MEAC in 3-point field goal percentage (38.1), 14th in field goal percentage (44.1) and 15th in scoring (12.6)
 • Ranks 209th in the nation in double doubles (3)
 • Stands 13th in NSU D-I single season records with a .381 3-point field goal percentage (See table page 6)

Malik Thomas
 • Ranks 12th in the MEAC in blocks (1.0)
 • 2.5 assists last four games

Jordan Butler
 • 4.0 rebounds last 13 games played
 • Ranks 9th in the MEAC in blocks (1.2) and 200th in the nation (1.19)
 • Stands 11th in NSU D-I single season records with 31 blocks (See table page 6)

LaTre'e Russell
 • 3.7 points, 2.2 rebounds last 10 games played

Devonte Banner
 • 5.3 points on 6-of-13 field goals last three games

MEAC Standings
The Spartans stand alone in second place in the MEAC at 9-3, while North Carolina Central sits in first at 12-0. NSU has a two-game lead for second place in the MEAC, with UMES (8-5), Howard, Hampton and South Carolina State (7-5) and Delaware State (6-5) all sitting with five losses in conference play. UMES would own any head-to-head tiebreaker with NSU, which still must play Howard, Hampton and Delaware State in the last three games of the regular season.

Road Warriors
Since the start of the 2011-12 season, NSU has gone 25-4 in conference road games.

Winning Big in the MEAC
Overall in conference play, NSU is averaging 72.7 points per game while shooting 51.2 percent overall and 35.1 percent from 3-point range. NSU has outrebounded foes by an average of 5.9 boards per contest while also holding them to 38.5 percent shooting and 27.1 percent from beyond the arc. Seven of NSU's nine MEAC wins have been by double digits, the first time since 2004-05 the Spartans won seven conference games by 10 or more points.

Conference Streak
NSU has already secured its 17th straight season with a .500 or better record in the MEAC. In fact, in Norfolk State's 60 seasons in a conference including this year, the program has had just one losing conference record (9-10 in the CIAA in 1990-91).

NSU is tied for 10th in the nation with Wisconsin and Florida for the longest streak of .500-or-better conference records in a row (See table page 6). Coming into the year, only nine other schools had longer Division I streaks than the Spartans. NSU has posted 23 straight .500 or better conference records, dating back to its D-II CIAA days.

Winning Record
NSU needs one more win this year for its fourth straight winning season. Prior to the start of that streak in 2011-12, NSU had a winning record just twice in 14 seasons since moving to Division I in 1997. The Spartans own an 82-48 record over the last four seasons, the best four-game stretch for the program since 1993-97 (94-26).

MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank No. 1 in the MEAC in rebounding margin (+4.7) and blocks (5.3). They also stand second in scoring margin (+3.6), field goal percentage (46.5), defensive rebound percentage (69.5) and assist-turnover ratio (0.9), as well as third in scoring offense (68.9), opponent rebounding (31.4), defensive rebounds (25.0), offensive rebound percentage (35.2) and assists (13.1).

NSU is the only school in the MEAC with three players ranked in the top 15 in scoring.

Better From the Line
After hitting less than 70 percent from the free throw line in 12 of the prior 13 games, NSU has now shot a combined 46-of-60 (76.7 percent) over the last two games. The team's 30-of-39 effort at Morgan State marked the most makes and attempts since setting the school records during a 41-of-62 night against Florida A&M on Dec. 5, 2013.

Block Party
Over the last 15 contests, the Spartans are averaging 6.7 blocks per game and have outblocked the opposition by a collective 101-49 margin. NSU had 10 at Savannah State, tied for the most in a game over the past 10 years.

Struggling from 3
NSU has shot 14-of-68 (20.6 percent) from 3-point range over the last four games after shooting 20-of-38 (52.6 percent) in the three games prior.

No Lead is Safe
NSU has lost a double-digit lead in each of the past two games, losses to UMES and Morgan State. The Spartans had not lost a double-digit lead in a setback since Dec. 19, 2013 at Seattle.

Winning the State
Since the start of the 2011-12 season, NSU has the third-most wins (82) among the 14th Division I schools in the state of Virginia. The Spartans trail VCU (102) and Virginia (99).

Doubling Up
The Spartans have had 19 double-doubles on the season this year, including the most recent, a 17-point, 10-rebound effort by Jeff Short at Morgan State.

Winning the Rebounding Battle
The Spartans have had the rebounding edge or been even on the glass in 21 of the 27 games this year. Dating back to last season, it also includes 32 of the last 39 opponents. On the season, the Spartans have a +4.7 rebounding margin, although NSU has grabbed only three more offensive rebounds total.

Thanks for the Points
NSU has outscored 10 of its last 12 opponents in points off turnovers and has had fewer turnovers than the opposition in the last four games. On the year the Spartans are averaging 14.8 points off turnovers per game compared to 14.0 for opponents. NSU has had at least 12 points off turnovers in each of the last 10 games.

Balanced Scoring?
NSU has four players averaging better than nine points per game, including leading scorer Jeff Short (19.3) as well as RaShid Gaston (14.7), D'Shon Taylor (12.6) and Malik Thomas (9.2). After those four, though, the next highest scorer is LaTre'e Russell at 3.0 points. Six players have tallied between 2.2 and 3.0 points per contest. NSU is getting outscored 20.1-14.5 in bench points this year.

A year after losing nearly 80 percent of its scoring from its senior class, NSU is now getting 78.5 percent of its scoring (1459-of-1859 points) from just four players. Those four have also combined for 75 of the team's 79 total double-digit scoring performances this year.

Better After the Break
NSU has tallied more points in the second half than the first half in 18 of the last 24 games. On the season, NSU has scored 92 more points in the second half than the first.

Good from 3
Norfolk State has made a 3-pointer in 174 straight games, dating back to a contest at South Carolina State on Jan. 25, 2010, when NSU finished 0-of-17 from 3-point range.