NORFOLK, Va. – Lynchburg College nailed 12 3-pointers and forced 26 Spartan turnovers to upset the Norfolk State men's basketball team by an 83-80 score on Monday night in NSU's home opener at Joseph Echols Hall.
 
The Hornets made 12-of-38 from deep for the game and overcame NSU's large advantage on the glass. They were also +10 in the turnover department while outscoring the Spartans by 13 in the second half.
 
The lead switched several times early in the game, but NSU took control to go up by as much as 12 late in the first half and then finally by 10 at the break, 47-37.
 
But the lead quickly evaporated and only really returned once in the second half.
 
The Hornets scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half, all within two and a half minutes, to get to within three at 49-46. They later made 4-of-4 free throws to cut the deficit to one, and a pair of buckets a minute apart tied the score at 56-56 with 12:49 left in the game.
 
Freshman Mastadi Pitt went over the 20-point barrier to keep the Spartans ahead, and his free throw at 12:31 started an 11-2 run that gave NSU a nine-point lead, 67-58. But the 3-point ball again was kind to Lynchburg, and a couple of makes at the rim followed later by a trey from Connor Schroeder gave the Hornets a 73-72 lead at the 5:23 mark.
 
After sophomore Steven Whitley put the Spartans back ahead with a pair of free throws, the Hornets went to the rim again for two buckets for a three-point edge, 79-76. Whitley and Pitt each made a pair of shots from the free throw line in the last few minutes, but Austin Wrighten made a jumper in the paint following an offensive rebound and then sank 2-of-4 from the line in the last minute of play.
 
The Spartans committed four turnovers and shot 0-of-8 from the field after their last field goal at 5:02.
 
NSU (0-2) outrebounded the Hornets 49-32. Both teams shot relatively the same from the floor, but Lynchburg's 3-point barrage was countered by just a 6-of-24 effort from beyond the arc from Norfolk State.
 
Pitt scored 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Bungei tallied a career-high 19 points on 7-of-13 from the field with eight rebounds and career bests of five blocks and four steals. The duo, however, combined for 11 of the team's 26 turnovers.
 
For Lynchburg, Schroeder added 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Wrighten (16 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists) and Logan Seacrist (15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks) also played big roles in the win, which served as an exhibition game for the Hornets.
 
At the start of the contest, they made several 3-pointers to stay with the Spartans, with Lynchburg even jumping ahead 14-10 after back-to-back treys five minutes in. NSU scored the next nine points to take the lead back, and an 11-2 run in the latter stages of the first stanza extended the advantage to 37-25.
 
Schroeder, though, knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:10 left to keep the Hornets within single digits. Pitt completed a 4-point play and Whitley made a layup with 1:09 to again extend the lead to 12, 45-33, but Schroeder had a pair of layups in the last minute of play for the 47-37 score at the break.
 
Sophomore Nic Thomas also reached double figures for NSU with 10 points. Whitley added nine points and a career-best nine rebounds. The Spartans made 26-of-63 overall (41.3 percent), with Lynchburg shooting 28-of-69 (40.6 percent).
 
The Hornets outscored the Spartans 27-16 in points off turnovers.
 
NSU will take to the road for four games in two trips. Up first, the Spartans compete at San Diego this Saturday before traveling to Grand Canyon.