RICHMOND, Ky. – Norfolk State got as close as one late in the game, but the Spartan men’s basketball team was unable to get past Eastern Kentucky in an 81-75 loss on Tuesday night during the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) first round at McBrayer Arena.

EKU led by as much as 14 in the second half thanks to some scorching 3-point shooting. NSU shot better than 60 percent overall to stay in the game, including a late comeback when EKU was itching to pull away.

A putback layup from junior RaShid Gaston and a 3-pointer in transition from junior Jeff Short with 5:36 left cut the EKU lead to just five, 71-66. Those buckets became part of a 10-0 run that trimmed the Colonel lead to just one, 71-70, at the 4:33 mark.

Ja’Mill Powell got the kind roll on his 3-pointer to push EKU’s lead to two possessions, and then neither team could get much going until Corey Walden completed a 3-point play with 47.3 seconds left. NSU senior Malik Thomas drained a trey from the left wing with 32.6 on the clock to make it 77-73, but the Spartans got no closer as time ran out.

The Spartans were making their fourth straight postseason appearance and the second straight in the CIT. NSU finished 20-14 overall for its third 20-win season in four years and the third in the Division I era that began in 1997.

Gaston led the Spartans with a game-tying 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting with 10 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the year.

Gaston was able to take advantage of a smaller EKU lineup, helping the Spartans outscore the Colonels 44-26 in points in the paint and finish with a 29-20 edge on the glass.

Thanks to Gaston’s nearly flawless effort from the floor, the Spartans shot 31-of-51 (60.8 percent) for the game. NSU had 25 assists on those 31 buckets, just one assist from tying the school’s D-I record.

Thomas added 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Short (14 points, 5-of-11 shooting) and junior D’Shon Taylor (13 points, 6-of-12 shooting) teamed up with Gaston and Thomas to score all but six of NSU’s points on the night.

Walden (22 points, 7-of-11 shooting) and Eric Stutz (22 points, 8-of-13 from the floor) provided plenty of offense for EKU (20-11). Walden also added eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.