LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team went nearly 12 minutes without a bucket in the second half, and Little Rock took advantage to pull away from the Spartans in a 70-55 win on Sunday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
The Spartans connected on less than 25 percent in the second half despite a strong close to the game in which they scored 25 points in the last eight minutes. Nevertheless, the Trojans came away with the win despite not having a single player in double figures.
 
Sophomore Steven Whitley scored 16 points – all in the second half and all but two during that last eight-minute stretch – with a career-high seven rebounds and a career high tying three steals for Norfolk State.
 
Little Rock (1-5) got nine points each from Andre Jones, Jaizec Lottie, Camron Reedus and Wadly Mompremier. Cameron Corcoran and Ben Marcus each scored eight, and Corcoran was one of six players with at least two assists for the Trojans. They also held a big advantage down low, outscoring the Spartans 38-10 in points in the paint.
 
NSU (0-6) also got nine points from sophomore Nic Thomas, all on 3-pointers, and eight points from senior Kyle Williams.
 
The Spartans outscored the Trojans by one in the second half, but Little Rock led by as much as 20 in the first to put NSU in a hole. A trey by Williams on the first possession of the second half made it a 13-point ballgame. But with the Spartans looking to get the deficit into single digits, they hit their cold streak and were unable to recover.
 
Senior Preston Bungei had all seven of his points for the game early on, scoring seven of NSU's first nine as the Spartans led 9-8 early on. They then went nearly five minutes without scoring as Little Rock built a 15-9 lead with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
 
Junior Derrik Jamerson Jr. nailed a 3-pointer and found junior Alex Long for a jumper to get the Spartans to within three at 19-16. The Trojans then went on an 18-1 run to push the advantage to 20, 37-17. Thomas finally stopped the bleeding with a trey from the right corner with less than two minutes to go in the half.
 
Freshman Mastadi Pitt's 3-pointer with time running out cut the Little Rock lead to 39-23 at the break.
 
The Trojans shot 5-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half but just 1-of-8 in the second. They converted nearly 60 percent overall in the first half as well before finishing 26-of-60 (52.0 percent).
 
The Trojans held NSU scoreless for a little more than six minutes during that 12-minute stretch of the second half. They scored 10 straight during that time for a 52-28 lead.
 
Whitley finally broke the field-goal drought when he converted a 3-point play at the 7:47 mark. In fact, he scored 11 of NSU's 14 points during a four and a half minute stretch. The Spartans outscored the Trojans 18-8 in the final few minutes of the game. Thomas and Whitley knocked down last minute 3-pointers to get the final margin to 15.
 
NSU made 9-of-38 in the second half and 18-of-61 for the contest (29.5 percent), its first game under 30 percent in nearly two years. Bungei finished with seven points and seven boards, while Pitt handed out five assists.
 
The Trojans had just two less giveaways than NSU (21-19) but held a 28-18 advantage in points off turnovers. The Spartans, meanwhile, could not take advantage of a 19-10 edge on the offensive glass.
 
The Spartans will return to Norfolk to start a stretch of four home games in a five-game span. Up first, the Spartans host Kent State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall as part of a doubleheader with the women's team.