Box Score Postgame Press Conference

NORFOLK, Va. – After taking both regular season meetings this year against Hampton, the Norfolk State men's basketball team was unable to make it 3-for-3 on Friday night as the No. 2 seed Spartans were upset by No. 6 seed Hampton, 75-64, in the MEAC semifinals at Scope Arena.
 
The Spartans led most of the first half but never by more than six points. The Pirates went into halftime up by three and then slowly extended their lead throughout the second period. NSU got to within five late in the contest, but the teams traded free throws down the stretch until time ran out.
 
Hours after No. 1 seed North Carolina Central fell to Delaware State in the first semifinal, completely opening up the tournament, the Spartans came out and took control pretty early.
 
A turnaround 3-pointer by junior Jeff Short and two free throws each by him and junior D'Shon Taylor gave NSU a six-point edge shortly before the under-12 media timeout. Hampton was able to cut the Spartan lead to one at 22-21 after a 3-point play and then a 1-of-2 effort at the foul line from Quinton Chievous with 8:22 to go.
 
Chievous tied it up at 28-28 when he hit 1-of-2 from the line. Less than a minute later, back-to-back buckets gave the Pirates their second lead of the game. Freshman Jordan Butler's putback momentarily gave the Spartans the lead back with a little more than two minutes left, but Hampton scored the last four points of the half to take a 36-33 lead into the break.
 
Chievous proved to be the difference in the game. He led all players with 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 16 rebounds and four assists. He also hit 11-of-13 from the free throw line, helping Hampton finished 32-of-38 from the charity stripe (84.2 percent).
 
The Pirates (15-17) moved on to play Delaware State in Saturday's MEAC Championship game.
 
Taylor, meanwhile, led NSU (20-13) with 16 points and seven boards. He connected on 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
 
The Pirates seized control as soon as the second half began. They scored the first seven points coming out of the locker room to open a 10-point advantage. The Pirates extended the lead to 53-41 on a 3-pointer from Brian Darden in the left corner with 9:44 on the clock. After falling behind by 14, the Spartans made one last effort to get back into the game. They cut the deficit to seven three different times and then to five 61-56 on Taylor's fastbreak dunk.
 
That bucket came with just 2:36 left in the game. Ke'Ron Brown answered with a 3-pointer for Hampton, and then the game's next 17 points all were scored via free throws. Taylor and freshman Zaynah Robinson each hit 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to get to within five twice, but the Pirates scored the last six points of the game for the final margin.
 
After missing most of the quarterfinal game against South Carolina State due to injury, junior RaShid Gaston came back and scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting off the bench. Short was the only other double-digit scorer with 10.
 
The Spartans shot 21-of-55 for the game (38.2), nearly identical to Hampton's 20-of-52 effort (38.5 percent).
 
Reginald Johnson (13), Brown (11) and Darden (10) all scored in double figures for Hampton.
 
NSU will find out if its season will continue on Sunday following the release of postseason tournament brackets.