SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team overcame a sluggish first half to make it interesting on Saturday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, but the Spartans could not complete the comeback in falling 71-62 to San Diego.
 
NSU outscored the Toreros 46-33 in the second half after scoring just 16 in the first stanza on the way to a 22-point deficit at the break. But the Spartans defense held San Diego to just five second-half field goals, all 3-pointers, while reversing the shooting trends from the first half.
 
Part of the Grand Canyon Classic, the game featured San Diego's 12-of-26 3-point shooting effort, although they made just 33 percent from inside the arc. The Spartans, meanwhile, made nearly 47 percent from the field in the second half, getting as close as six late in the game.
 
Sophomore Nic Thomas led the way with 16 points, and junior Alex Long scored 14 for the Spartans (0-3), and both scored all but two of their points in the second half.
 
Long got things going for NSU after the break. The Spartans scored 12 of the first 15 points of the second half, cutting the deficit to just 41-28. Long had five buckets within the first eight minutes, while San Diego's Cameron Neubauer hit three 3-pointers for the Toreros to account for their only points in the first nine minutes.
 
Sophomore Steven Whitley drained a deep 3-pointer with less than nine minutes to go, and Thomas completed a 3-point play at 7:51 to get NSU to within single digits at 52-43. Senior Preston Bungei's bucket less than a minute later made it a seven-point ballgame.
 
The Toreros (3-0) went eight minutes between Neubauer's last 3-pointer and their next bucket, a trey from Olin Carter III at 4:26. He later drained another 3-pointer for a 14-point San Diego lead. Despite a pair of 3-point plays by Thomas, his second and third of the game, NSU got no closer than six at the end on Whitley's shot from beyond the arc with a little more than 30 seconds left.
 
Whitley (13 points) and Bungei (11) also reached double figures for NSU. Bungei tied for the team lead with six boards while shooting 5-of-11. Long made 6-of-8 from the field.
 
Carter finished with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Neubauer added 16 points. The duo combined to hit 9-of-20 from long range.
 
NSU found itself in foul trouble early, with senior Dan Robinson and Whitley each picking up a pair of fouls in the first five minutes of the game, including two for Whitley within the first minute. Still, NSU trailed by just one at 9-8 after freshman Mastadi Pitt made 2-of-3 from the foul line seven minutes into the game.
 
The Spartans, however, were mired in a seven-minute field goal drought during that time, with Pitt's two points accounting for the only scoring. The Toreros scored 13 straight after those two free throws by Pitt to open a 22-8 advantage.
 
The Toreros eventually hit treys on their last three possessions of the first half to open a 38-16 advantage over NSU at the break. It marked the fewest points in a half by the Spartans since a 15-point first-half effort at Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 12, 2013.
 
Isaiah Pineiro totaled 14 points and seven rebounds as well for San Diego.
 
NSU finished the game 20-of-53 overall (37.7 percent) but just 3-of-14 from deep. The Spartans shot 26 percent in the first half and nearly 47 percent in the second. San Diego made 45.5 percent in the first but just 29 percent in the second stanza.
 
The teams combined to shoot 46 free throws in the second half in a game that featured 55 total fouls. The Toreros outscored the Spartans 21-2 in points off turnovers despite NSU having just three more giveaways than San Diego.
 
NSU will head one state over for its next game, a Monday night contest at Grand Canyon beginning at 9 p.m. EST.