Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – Philip Owens drained a game-tying 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in regulation, and Virginia State went on to defeat the Norfolk State men's basketball team by a 72-67 score in overtime on Saturday night in an exhibition game at Joseph Echols Hall.
 
Virginia State rallied midway through the second half when the Spartans were primed to finally pull away from the pesky Trojans. VSU even took a lead at one point before the Spartans again went back ahead.
 
Trey Brown and Owens each had 3-pointers in the last minute of play, and in overtime NSU could only manage to score from the free throw line as VSU scored seven of the last eight points of the game in front of nearly 2,100 fans.
 
Altogether, the game featured 11 lead changes and 10 ties. Neither team shot well from the field,  however. Norfolk State hit 21-of-58 (36.2 percent), including 25 percent from 3-point range (5-of-20).
 
Virginia State connected on just 23-of-66 (34.8 percent) overall. Its 11-of-30 effort from 3-point range proved to be the ultimate difference.
 
Sophomore Nic Thomas led NSU with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Senior Preston Bungei was the only other player in double figures for Norfolk State with 12.
 
Brandon Holley made 5-of-12 from 3-point range and finished with 19 points off the bench for the Trojans. He was one of four players in double figures.
 
As a team, the Trojans hit six 3-pointers in the second half. The Spartans held a two-point edge at the break and continued to lead as time wore on. The teams traded buckets and free throws before a basket by senior Dan Robinson and a layup from Bungei two minutes later gave NSU its largest lead of the game, 44-35.
 
Holley, though, nailed a 3-pointer at 10:00 exactly and followed that up with two more treys on VSU's next two possessions to tie the score at 44-44. After Robinson's layup, VSU scored buckets on its next two possessions for a 48-46 advantage with six and a half minutes left.
 
Senior Stavian Allen tied it back up on a fastbreak dunk, and NSU held the advantage until late. Holley made three free throws at the 1:18 mark before Spartan sophomore Steven Whitley converted a layup for a four-point edge. Brown and Owens nailed treys in the last minute, with Ownes hitting one from the left corner on a fadeaway shot after Thomas had made two free throws on the other end with 6.8 seconds left.
 
Owens had another 3-pointer and a layup in overtime, the latter of which came with 1:41 left in the extra session that gave the Trojans the lead for good. The Spartans made 6-of-8 from the free throw line but missed all three of their field goal attempts in OT.
 
The first half featured six lead changes as neither team led by more than five. And that came in the first few minutes when Norfolk State went ahead first. Two 3-pointers from Holley and another from Waymond Wright ended that Spartan advantage.
 
NSU never led by more than four the rest of the first half, that coming on a 3-pointer from Allen at the 7:45 mark. Bungei scored the last four points for the Spartans to give them a 26-24 lead at intermission.
 
Whitley and junior Alex Long each scored eight points, and Whitley led all players with eight rebounds.
 
Owens (11 points) and Brown and Cyonte Melvin (10 points each) also reached double figures for the Trojans. Melvin also had six rebounds and five steals. Richard Granberry contributed eight points, five rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
 
NSU finished 20-of-23 from the free throw line. The Spartans also held a 44-40 edge on the glass, although the Trojans outscored them 14-6 in second-chance points.
 
The Spartans will open their 2017-18 season next Friday at Auburn at 8 p.m.