DOVER, Del. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team weathered a late storm from Delaware State and hung on to defeat the Hornets by a 75-70 score on Monday evening in a conference matchup at Memorial Hall.
 
NSU never trailed in the game and had control late until the Hornets used some sloppy play from the Spartans to make a run. Delaware State cut a double-digit deficit down to just one, but in the end, DSU's comeback fell just short. Some clutch free throw shooting from NSU made the difference in the last minute of play.
 
Norfolk State had to overcome a 20-turnover night, including 13 in the second half. Four of those giveaways came in the last four and a half minutes of play when Delaware State made its last stand.
 
Neither team made a field goal in four and a half minutes until senior Jonathan Wade drained a trey from the left corner with 7:55 on the clock. That made it 59-45 in favor of the Spartans, their biggest lead of the game, but the Hornets had a response. A 9-2 run cut the NSU advantage to just 61-54 with five minutes to go.
 
Wade kept the lead from shrinking any more with a pair of baskets, at least until NSU started coughing up the ball and sending the Hornets to the free throw line. Down by nine, they made 5-of-6 from the charity stripe and got a trey from Artem Tavakalyan to slice NSU's lead to just one, 65-64, at the 1:22 mark.
 
Wade's 3-pointer from the right corner on the next possession bounced off the iron, straight up in the air, and went through the nylon with 55.4 seconds left. NSU led by four from there, and the teams essentially traded free throws the rest of the way. Junior Zaynah Robinson sank 6-of-6, all on 1-and-1 opportunities, to keep NSU ahead.
 
Kobe Gantz had a quick drive to the hoop with 17.9 seconds left to cut the deficit to two, but that was as close as DSU got in the end. The loss dropped the Hornets to 5-14 overall and 2-2 in MEAC play. NSU improved to 2-2 as well as 5-13 overall.
 
Wade had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead all players. Junior Jordan Butler added 15 points, making all four of his field goal attempts, with seven rebounds. Robinson posted his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 assists.
 
Senior Kerwin Okoro also reached double figures with 10 points. He nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner near the start of the game, and Butler finished a 3-point play on a huge fastbreak slam to help the Spartans jump out to a 15-4 lead five minutes in. The Hornets, though, immediately countered with an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to just two just three minutes later.
 
Wade's trey from the left wing began a short 7-2 run for the Spartans, but Dana Raysor answered with his own 3-pointer from the right wing with a defender in his face to make it 24-20 with 7:55 on the clock. Okoro's trey kept NSU ahead, and DSU went four minutes without a bucket until Devin Morgan's trey with 1:47 left. Wade had a couple of buckets late in the half, but DeAndre Haywood hit two free throws with 4.0 seconds to go to cut the Spartan lead to 34-31 at the break.
 
Norfolk State made just 3-of-16 from the 3-point line in the first half but 5-of-8 in the second.
 
Robinson and junior Kyle Williams each hit shots from long range early in the second half to get themselves back on track. Williams sank another trey from the right corner, a minute after his first one, to push NSU's lead back to double digits with 14:50 left, 48-36. The Hornets answered with a couple of long distance shots before both teams went cold.
 
A short time later, NSU took its largest lead of the game before DSU's last gasp.
 
Sophomore Alex Long added nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks. The Spartans shot 24-of-51 for the game (47.1 percent) while holding Delaware State to 32 percent shooting in the second half and 19-of-51 overall (37.3).
 
Morgan (16 points) and Haywood (14) were the only two players in double figures for DSU. Haywood did most of his damage at the free throw line, shooting 10-of-14. The Hornets outscored the Spartans 26-13 in points off turnovers and 15-6 in second chance points.
 
NSU, on the other hand, outscored DSU 26-14 in points in the paint.
 
NSU will head back home to host Hampton in the Battle of the Bay next Saturday at Joseph Echols Hall.