Tony Murphy scored a team-high 24 points and Corey Lyons added 15 to lead Norfolk State to an 81-70 win over the Maryland Eastern Shore in the opening round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at the RBC Center.

The Number 6 seed Spartans (11-18) will take on the Number 3 seed, North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at 6 pm.

Norfolk State appeared to take control of the game in the first 20 minutes as Murphy, a first team All-MEAC selection, tallied 18 of his points on 6-of-11 shooting and Lyons, who scored 14 on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of- 4 from beyond the arc. The Spartans shot 56 percent (15 of 27) and led, 43-29 at the break.

“I was happy with our defensive effort,” said Norfolk State coach Dwight Freeman. “We held them to 29 percent the first half. That allowed us to have a good effort on the offensive end.”

Added UMES Coach Larry Lessett, “I think we concentrated too much on their inside people early. Tony Murphy really hurt us. He is a really good player.”

But the Number 11 seed Hawks (4-27) put together a second half rally, spearheaded by Ed Tyson, who poured in 22 of his game-high 30 points. UMES whittled the lead down to five at 43-38 following a 9-0 run.

“I was really proud of the way the team played in the second half,” said Lessett. “They played very hard. Ed Tyson is a man. He stepped up big-time tonight.”

The Spartans then regained control of the game on the play of Tynell Dunkley, Calvin Brown and Larry Vickers, who combined for 22 second half points. Norfolk State helped put the game away by shooting 80 percent (20 of 25) from the free throw line in the last 20 minutes.

“We still need to be able to put together two solid halves of basketball and that starts at the defensive end,” said Freeman. “Calvin got in foul trouble, but other players stepped up and that was key.”

Corey Brown of UMES contributed 14 points in the loss. Dunkley finished with 15 points for the Spartans.