Short, Gaston Once Again Lead NSU to Victory
NORFOLK, Va. – The opponents may change but their production does not. And after leading the Norfolk State men’s basketball team to another solid win on Friday night at Joseph Echols Hall, juniors Jeff Short and RaShid Gaston have become arguably the top duo in the MEAC.
For the third time in five games, both players reached the 20-point plateau in the same contest, and the most recent result was an 81-62 victory over Northern Arizona in NSU’s last home game in nearly a month.
Short tallied 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Gaston added 20 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Spartan offense. NSU outscored Northern Arizona by 18 in the first half while shooting better than 57 percent overall for the game.
The Lumberjacks were coming off an upset of mid-major Saint Mary’s on Tuesday on the road, but the Spartans used an efficient offense and some tight defense to move to 8-5 on the season.
Short scored at least 20 points for the fifth time in seven games, while Gaston had his seventh double-double in the last eight games. The forward also tallied his eighth straight game with double-digit rebounds, the longest such stretch by an NSU player in Division I history. Gaston has also scored at least 20 points in four of the last six games.
Aaseem Dixon and Jaleni Neely led the way with 17 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench for Northern Arizona. No Lumberjack starter reached double figures, including leading scorer and Norfolk native Quinton Upshur.
D’Shon Taylor finished with 13 points for NSU, while Malik Thomas totaled eight points and 11 rebounds. Despite committing just two less giveaways, the Spartans finished with a 21-11 edge in points off turnovers.
NSU will hit the road for six straight games, beginning next Monday with a contest at James Madison.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Bethune-Cookman falls to Mercer
MACON, Ga. – Bethune-Cookman fell behind 10-0 at the outset and never recovered as Mercer downed the Wildcats 67-46 Friday night at Hawkins Arena.
Ike Nwamu scored 22 points as the Bears (6-5) handed the Wildcats (3-8) their third straight loss.
Clemmye Owens led the Wildcats with 10 points, followed by Quentin Brewer with eight and Denzil Dulin with seven. Brandon Stewart, making his 2014-15 debut, had six points and a team-high five rebounds.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Rattlers drop home opener to North Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FAMU Rattlers dropped their home opening basketrball game Friday night to visiting North Florida, 83-65 at the Al Lawson Center.
Junior Jermaine Ruttley and freshman Dalvin Roberts each scored 15 points to lead the Rattlers, with Ruttley just missing a double-double, tying Emanuel Pellot-Valentin for high rebounding honors with nine (9) each. Craig Bowman added nine points, followed by eight from Pellot-Valentin.
Trent Mackey led UNF with 22 points, highlighted by a 5-of-8 three-point performance, followed by Jalen Nesbitt’s double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Dallas Moore added 17 points, with Beau Beech hitting 11.
The Rattlers (0-10) travel to Greenville, North Carolina for a Monday night bout at East Carolina, a game to be televised by ESPN3.
For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com
Old Dominion pulls away from Maryland Eastern Shore
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball team hung tough with Old Dominion University before the Monarchs pulled away in the second half for a 60-43 win on Friday night. UMES (5-8) trailed by just five points at halftime, but the offense could not keep pace after halftime.
Mike Myers led the Hawks with 13 points, though again he attempted just six shots on the evening. The senior forward also made five of his eight free throw attempts. Iman Johnson and Ishaq Pitt both started and thrived in their increased roles with eight and seven points respectively. After being named MEAC Player of the Week, Martin had a relatively quiet game, hitting a three on the opening possession but managing just five points for the night.
Old Dominion has now won six in a row, improving to 9-1. The Hawks dropped to 5-8, for now delaying their chances for the team’s first three-game winning streak since March of 2011. ODU has defeated UMES in all eight head-to-head matchups between the two schools.
UMES turns their attention to St. Bonaventure for a Monday night matchup in New York. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Reilly Center in St. Bonaventure, N.Y. Pregame coverage begins at 6:40 p.m. on the Hawks Radio Network, powered by SFMSports.net and Fox Sports 960 AM.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Pirates bounce back with win over Tennessee State
HAMPTON, Va. -- The Hampton University men’s basketball team got back into the win column Friday night, as the Pirates swept the season series with Tennessee State after a 66-54 win at the HU Convocation Center.
The Pirates (5-6) have won four of their last five games.
Three Pirates finished the night with a team-high 15 points: junior guard Deron Powers, guard Quinton Chievous, and junior guard Brian Darden. Chievous also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Powers also had seven assists, while Darden came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers.
Head coach Edward Joyner Jr., in his sixth season, is now four wins away from becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach at the Division I level. He had 87 wins during his tenure.
Hampton shot 34.3 percent (23-for-67) from the floor and hit four of 22 3-pointers (18.2 percent). The Pirates also turned 21 Tennessee State turnovers into 20 points and held a 44-39 advantage on the glass.
Tennessee State (2-9) shot 34.7 percent (17-for-49) from the floor and hit three of 10 3-pointers, but the Tigers went just 17-for-30 (56.7 percent) from the free throw line.
Jay Harris led the Tigers with 16 points.
The Pirates will play host to Northern Arizona on Sunday at 4 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com