Box Score Game Highlights | Postgame Press Conference

NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 2 seed Norfolk State men's basketball team held North Carolina Central to its second-lowest scoring output of the season in a 66-47 win on Wednesday evening in the MEAC tournament quarterfinal at Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
The Spartans held the No. 7 seed Eagles to just 33 percent shooting with 18 turnovers despite a modest shooting night from NSU, which was held to the second-fewest points against a MEAC opponent this year. Nevertheless, NSU advanced to Friday's semifinal game at 8:30 p.m. The Spartans will play the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal game between No. 3 seed South Carolina State and No. 11 Coppin State.
 
The Spartans won thanks to a tight defense that held the shorthanded Eagles in check. NCCU also found plenty of foul trouble, especially in the first half, while hitting just 15-of-45 from the floor for the game, including 2-of-14 from 3-point range.
 
Senior Jeff Short led NSU (17-15) with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists, hitting all seven of his foul shots. Senior D'Shon Taylor tallied 13 points and six boards, while NSU's third senior, Charles Oliver, also reached double figures with 10.
 
NCCU (13-19) was led by Dante Holmes, who posted a game-high 17 points and five rebounds.
 
NSU jumped out to an 11-3 lead to start the game, with Short hitting three straight from the free throw line at 16:02 to cap the early spurt. After NCCU finally got its first bucket five minutes into the game, Short responded with a 3-pointer from the left wing to give him eight early points.
 
The lead reached double digits, and NSU went up by 15 at 24-9 with 8:29 on the clock when a block on the defensive end led to sophomore Zaynah Robinson's fastbreak layup on the other side. NCCU went nearly three and a half minutes without scoring until C.J. Wiggins hit a tough jumper at 6:45 to finally give the Eagles a double-digit score.
 
An 8-2 run for the Eagles a little later cut the Spartan lead to 31-19, with Holmes connecting on a 3 from the right corner for NCCU's first trey of the game. He hit a jumper in the lane with two seconds left to cut the Spartan advantage to 36-21 going into the half.
 
That came after NSU had made four straight free throws with 24.2 seconds left, two on a personal foul and two more when NCCU coach LeVelle Moton was assessed a technical. The Spartans shot 11-of-13 from the charity stripe in the first half and 17-of-22 overall (77.3 percent).
 
Six players for the Eagles – a total of 10 dressed – picked up two fouls in the first stanza, with Jeremiah Ingram earning three. Short made all seven of his free throw attempts in the first stanza to help give him 12 of his 16 points before the break. The Eagles made just 6-of-20 from the floor in the first stanza (30.0 percent).
 
NSU got called for seven of the first eight fouls of the first half, all within the first five minutes, but NSU still led 45-28 when Taylor sank the second of his two treys just a minute apart. Neither team hit a field goal for the next three and a half minutes, and NSU went five minutes until junior Preston Bungei's tip-in at 9:58.
 
That began an 11-3 run for the Spartans, who led 60-37 at the close of it after Oliver made a tough shot on the baseline in traffic and completed the 3-point play at the line. That marked the largest lead of the game for the Spartans, who led by at least 19 the rest of the way.
 
Norfolk State made 22-of-55 overall for the game (40.0 percent) and held a slight edge on the glass, 38-34. NSU did outscore the Eagles 13-3 in second-chance points.
 
Robinson finished with eight points. Taylor was also one of three players for the Spartans with two blocks. For the game, NSU held an 8-0 advantage in swats.
 
Kyle Benton totaled 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds for NCCU.