BALTIMORE, Md. ? Jermaine “Itchy” Bolden has come up with a few big shots this season. He scored the Bears’ game-winning shot against William-Jessup, he hit a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch against Maryland, and tonight he once again delivered when it mattered most.
The senior guard hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go to help the Bears hold off Norfolk State 74-70.
“I was looking for that shot the whole game, and they just gave me an opportunity to shoot it,” Bolden said matter-of-factly. “So I just took the shot with confidence and I knew it was going in.”
Bolden posted a game-high seven assists to go along with eight points and two steals.
After a put-back by NSU’s Brandon Monroe cut the Bears’ lead to 72-70 with nine seconds left, Rogers Barnes sank two free throws with 6.4 seconds left to improve the Bears’ record to 3-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and 8-8 overall.
Tonight was a good test for the Bears who were defeated last season by a buzzer-beater at Norfolk State, and were entering the game fresh off a hard fought win against North Carolina A&T on Saturday. Plus, the Bears faced a Spartan team that was trying to win its third consecutive game after a 10-game losing streak.
Michael Deloach, the MEAC’s leading scorer (20.4 ppg), scored the Spartans’ first 14 points, as NSU took an early 14-7 lead with 13:23 remaining in the first half. MSU went on a 10-0 run, including four points from Barnes, to take back the lead, and the Bears led 35-30 at the half.
The teams traded baskets throughout most of the first seven minutes of the second half. NSU’s last advantage came at 46-45 after two free throws by Lyons with 13:57 left in the game. But Holmes, who did not score a single field goal in the first half, scored the game’s next eight points in a 14-4 run that gave the Bears a 59-50 lead with 8:40 remaining.
Corey Lyons cut the deficit to one with 1:05 remaining, but Bolden answered with a three-point dagger on the next possession to help the Bears pull out the win.
The Bears had a balanced effort tonight as five Bears finished in double-figures. Marquise Kately matched a season-high with 16 points, while redshirt freshman Kevin Thompson had 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Barnes chipped in 12 points, Reggie Holmes added 11, and Rodney Stokes 10.
MSU, the leading three-point shooting team in the MEAC, finished with only four 3-pointers, their lowest total in three games.
The Bears also had a hard time keeping the Spartans off of the boards and were outrebounded by a 37-28 margin, but turned 19 NSU turnovers into 19 points.
“They were a tough team and it was one of the few teams that outrebounded us like that,” said MSU head coach Todd Bozeman. “But maybe a lot of that is because we shot 48 percent from the field, and a lot of times we have more offensive rebounds than we had tonight.”
NSU’s (3-11, 1-2 MEAC) Lyons and Deloach were a handful for the Bears as they accounted for 42 of the Spartans 70 points, by scoring 21 points apiece.