NORFOLK, Va. – Jalen Hawkins scored a team-high 17 points to lead three Spartans in double figures as the Norfolk State men's basketball advances to the MEAC Tournament semifinals with a 74-66 win over Delaware State on Wednesday evening at the Norfolk Scope.

Despite the matchup being the No. 1 vs. No. 8, the game was close throughout. NSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a fast break layup by Joe Bryant Jr., but the Hornets responded with the next five points to take their first and only lead of the game at 5-4 on a jumper by Zach Kent.

A three by Hawkins with 16:40 left in the first half gave the lead back to the Spartans for good. Throughout the rest of the first half, the Hornets pulled within one point on five different occasions and tied the score once, but NSU had a one-point lead at the break.

The Spartans opened up the second by extending the lead to seven and kept it above four until 12:47 left. A layup by Myles Carter with 10:32 pulled the Hornets within that four-point margin, but an 11-0 run that started by a layup by Dana Tate Jr. and ended with a fast break layup by Hawkins with 7:05 left.

DSU worked the Spartan lead down to four with 4:46 left, but a dunk by Kris Bankston extended the lead to 11 with 2:51 left. The Hornets never got closer that five the rest of the way with 33 seconds remaining as a pair of free-throws by Hawkins with 12 seconds left provided the final 74-66 margin.

In addition to Hawkins' 17 points, both Tate and Bankston scored 14 points. All three of the double-figure scorers had the team-high seven rebounds.

The Spartans (22-6) will have to wait to see who their semifinal opponent would be. The 4/5 matchup between Morgan State and South Carolina State takes place on Thursday at 6 p.m. In the other Wednesday matchup, No. 7 seed Coppin State upset No. 2 seed Howard 59-57.