Tony Murphy had 25 points and six rebounds, and Larry Vickers recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Norfolk State won its season-high fifth straight game, 68-61, over Maryland Eastern Shore Monday night at Echols Hall.

The win, the Spartans’ 14th straight over UMES kept NSU tied with Morgan State atop the MEAC standings.

Murphy was 8-of-15 from the floor, 5-of-11 from 3-point territory in his final home game as a Spartan. Vickers, another of the three Spartan seniors playing in his final home game, added four assists and three steals.

Murphy scored 11 points and buried three treys in a 15-0 first-half run that turned a one-point NSU deficit into a 14-point edge. But Hawks’ guard Ed Tyson, the MEAC’s leading scorer, had 11 points of his own in the first half, including a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left before the break, to keep UMES within eight, 31-23, at the half.

The Hawks caught fire early in the second half, outscoring NSU 26-12 over the first 11 minutes. Gary Lee, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored 15 points in that stretch to give UMES a 49-43 lead.

But NSU kept chipping away, eventually taking the lead for good at 55-54 on Murphy’s fifth and final 3-pointer of the night with 4:52 remaining. UMES was held scoreless on its next four possessions. Corey Lyons (Bronx, N.Y.) pushed NSU’s lead to 57-54 with a driving layup, and then an intentional foul on UMES forward Denzel Jackson led to a three-point play by Murphy that pushed the Spartans’ lead to six.

Although they shot just 45.5 percent from the foul line (10-of-22), the Spartans went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 46 seconds to seal the win.

Lyons added 14 points and seven rebounds for NSU and helped limit Tyson to 17 points (three below his average) on 7-of-23 shooting. Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) tied his career highs of seven assists and four steals.

Marc Davis finished with 19 points and Lee 17 for the Hawks.