DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Once again, the Norfolk State men's basketball team had a slow first half before coming on strong in the last 20 minutes of play. But unfortunately for the Spartans on Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium, Bethune-Cookman was up for the second-half challenge.
 
The short-handed Spartans never led in the second half and suffered their first MEAC loss of the year, 84-76. They shot 55 percent in the second half after a 29 percent effort in the first, and junior Steven Whitley had a big second half as NSU trailed by as much as 18. He nearly had a triple double with season high totals of 23 points (7-of-17 shooting), 12 rebounds and nine assists while adding three steals.
 
Down to nine active players for the game, NSU saw its record drop to 8-1 in the league and 13-11 overall after its eight game win streak came to an end. The Spartans maintained their first-place standing, as Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T each had two losses coming into the day.
 
B-CU shot 48 percent for the game, including 52 percent in the second half. The Wildcats (11-13 overall, 6-4 MEAC) also had 32 free throw attempts in the second half, part of a 27-of-39 effort for the game. NSU finished with 29 fouls, including three players who fouled out by the end.
 
The Spartans scored 28 more points in the second than the first, but the Wildcats scored 18 more than they did in the first, as their nine point lead at halftime held up. Both teams reached the 50-point plateau in the second half after a slow first.
 
Five players also reached double figures for B-CU. Cletrell Pope had 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting with 15 rebounds and three blocks.
 
Norfolk State only led for a couple of minutes in the first half and not once in the second. B-CU pushed its lead up to 18 early in the second half. But one week after the Spartans overcame a 24-point second-half deficit in a win at Howard, they were unable to replicate that scenario. They certain did try, as NSU got to within six in the last minute and a half of the game.
 
The Wildcats made 9-of-18 from deep for the afternoon, and they had an early seven-point lead after making their first three 3-pointers of the game. Down 11-4, the Spartans went on a 12-3 run for the next eight and a half minutes to build a two-point lead with eight and a half minutes left in the first half.
 
Five lead changes immediately followed, as NSU continued to get buckets from all different sources. The team's nine field goals in the first half came from eight different players. But after baskets by freshmen Joe Bryant Jr. and C.J. Kelly put the Spartans ahead by two, the last of those five lead changes gave the Wildcats the lead for the rest of the game.
 
They ended the first period on an 11-0 run over four minutes of play, taking a 33-24 advantage into halftime. NSU shot just 29 percent from the floor, part of an overall 42 percent clip for the game. B-CU's strong first half was negated to a certain extent by 12 turnovers.
 
The Wildcats finished with 21 turnovers altogether. NSU had 10 in the second half and 15 overall.
 
Both teams started hitting shots coming out of the locker room, but the Wildcats pushed the lead to 18 after knocking down four more 3-pointers. The last one came from Armani Collins and made it 48-30 three and a half minutes in.
 
Senior Derrik Jamerson Jr. drained a trey to begin a 10-2 run for the Spartans, getting the Wildcat lead down to 10. Whitley had a pair of buckets during that time as well, and there was still 13 minutes left in the contest.
 
Despite Whitley taking over for the Spartans in the second half – 19 points after the break – they could not get closer than 12 for a several minute span. Bethune-Cookman led by as much as 16 during that time, but then finally with less than six minutes to go the Spartans cut the deficit to 10 after a bucket by freshman BJ Fitzgerald and a pair of free throws from Whitley.
 
Late in the game, Fitzgerald and Whitley each had 3-pointers during a 10-0 run that made it 75-69 with just 1:15 to go. Fitzgerald later made another one with 45 seconds to go, but six points was as close as the Spartans got.
 
Fitzgerald had 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds, and Jamerson added 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Kelly finished with eight points as well, shooting 3-of-6 with three rebounds and three steals.
 
For B-CU, Malik Maitland added 18 points and eight assists, connecting on all eight free throw attempts. Dondre Duffus totaled 14 points, and Collins and Shawntrez Davis each finished with 10.
 
The Spartans outscored the Wildcats 12-2 in fastbreak points and ended the game 8-of-22 from deep.
 
NSU will complete the road trip on Monday night at Florida A&M for an ESPNU broadcast. Game time is 7 p.m.