Postgame Interviews: Assistant Coach Jamal Brown | Kyle Williams

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State bounced back in a big way on Monday night, tying the school record with 14 3-pointers on the way to a 93-58 victory over Delaware State in a MEAC men's basketball matchup at Joseph Echols Hall.
 
NSU shot 14-of-28 from deep, tying the mark set three times during the 2015-16 season. The Spartans used a 30-0 run between the first and second halves to break the game open. It was part of a larger 58-9 run that lasted almost 18 minutes of game time.
 
Coming off a tough loss on Saturday, they responded by recording their biggest MEAC win ever at 35 points since playing their first official year in the league in 1998-99. Norfolk State improved to 7-4 in the MEAC and 9-17 overall on the year.
 
Senior Kyle Williams tallied 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 5-of-10 from deep. Junior Derrik Jamerson Jr. made 5-of-8 from 3-point range on the way to a 19-point night, and sophomore Nic Thomas made four 3-pointers as well for 13 points with a career-high five assists. The trio accounted for all of NSU's treys.
 
In addition, the Spartans outscored DSU 30-5 in points off turnovers, coughing it up just nine times while forcing 20 Hornet turnovers.
 
NSU only suffered a minor hiccup at the beginning of the game, when the Hornets raced out to a 16-5 lead to start the game, forcing a Spartan timeout. They responded by scoring the next 15 for a 20-16 lead with 9:20 on the clock in the first half. The run eventually reached 22-2, capped by a layup and 3-pointer from Jamerson, to give NSU a nine-point edge.
 
After a couple of scores by the Hornets (2-24, 0-11 MEAC), Williams knocked down a pair of treys to ignite a 21-2 spurt for the Spartans. They scored the last 15 points of the half during that time, part of a larger 43-9 overall run that gave NSU a 48-25 lead at the break.
 
Williams had 15 points and Jamerson added 10 in the first half as NSU made 9-of-18 from deep.
 
The Spartans scored the first 15 points of the second half as well, part of a larger 30-0 stretch that began at the 4:24 mark of the first half. It also marked the end of that big 58-9 spurt.
 
The Hornets knocked down three 3-pointers to finally give them their first points of the second half. Norfolk State pushed the lead to 38 before Artem Tavakalyan knocked down a pair from deep. The Spartans led by at least 28 the rest of the way.
 
Tavakalyan made 7-of-10 overall to lead DSU with 17 points and eight boards. Pinky Wiley made 4-of-6 from deep for a 12-point night. The Hornets shot 13-of-23 from 3-point range but just 39 percent overall on 21-of-54 shooting.
 
The Spartans connected on 31-of-63 overall (49.2 percent). They also made 17-of-19 from the free throw line.
 
Norfolk State also held advantages in points in the paint (24-12), second-chance points (11-3) and fastbreak points (14-7).

Senior Preston Bungei added 12 points, and junior Alex Long also reached double figures with 11. Sophomore Steven Whitley tallied eight points and tied his career high with nine assists.
 
NSU will stay home for the next two games, against Savannah State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Echols Hall followed by a contest next Monday against South Carolina State.