NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team made the short trip across town for its first road test of the season, taking on cross-town rival Old Dominion University at Chartway Arena. In a hard-fought battle that went down to the wire, the Monarchs edged the Spartans 60-57 on Tuesday night.

Elijah Jamison led Norfolk State with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while Anthony McComb III followed closely with 13. Devon Ellis rounded out the double-digit scorers, adding 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Spartans opened the scoring when Adrean Newton knocked down a free throw following an early ODU foul. The Monarchs responded with five straight points before NSU countered with a 6-0 run fueled by four points from Jamison and a pair of free throws from Jordan Leaks to take a 7-5 lead.

LJ Thomas connected from deep to briefly push ODU back in front, but the Spartans answered with a 10-0 surge to build a 17-8 advantage with 12:21 remaining in the half. McComb tallied four points during the stretch, while Ellis added an and-one to cap the run.

Old Dominion battled back with an 8-2 burst to trim the gap to 19-16. My'kel Jenkins knocked down a corner three to push the lead back to six, but the Monarchs closed the half on a 16-6 rally to take a 32-28 edge into the break.

The Spartans endured a three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought to open the second half before Ellis and Jamison ended the skid with back-to-back baskets, cutting the deficit to 38-32.

Norfolk State then pieced together an 8-0 run over three minutes, highlighted by scores from Jenkins, Ellis, and Leaks. Leaks' step-back jumper over former UMES standout KC Shaw tied the game at 40 with 12:56 left.

Following a Monarch triple, Ellis sank two free throws to bring NSU back within one at 43-42. ODU briefly extended its lead to five, but McComb drilled a three-pointer to make it 49-47.

After back-to-back ODU baskets, McComb struck again from long range, pulling the Spartans within three (53-50) heading into the under-eight media timeout.

Both defenses tightened as the teams went scoreless for more than two minutes until Thomas hit a turnaround jumper for ODU at the 5:19 mark. Jamison answered with a layup, and McComb's clutch three-pointer tied the game at 55 with 2:54 remaining.

The closing minutes provided plenty of drama. ODU regained a two-point edge before Jenkins' layup knotted the score again at 57. The Monarchs sealed the win with a dunk from Caelum Swanton-Rodger and a free throw from Thomas to take the 60-57 victory.

Up Next
The Spartans continue their road swing on Friday, Nov. 14, visiting the No. 18 Towson Tigers. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.