Box Score | Updated Bracket | MEACHoops.com
NORFOLK, Va., March 11, 2021 – In the final quarterfinal game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, the Norfolk State Spartans made a statement early against North Carolina Central and won 87-58.
Norfolk State (15-7) eliminated the Eagles from the event which they had captured the last three times the tournament was completed, winning by a convincing margin.
With the win, the Spartans head straight into Saturday’s championship game against the winner of Friday’s 6 p.m. Coppin State-Morgan State semifinal, as a result of its would-be opponent, North Carolina A&T State, bowing out of tournament play following a positive COVID-19 case within its program.
The Spartans, regular-season co-champions of the MEAC’s Northern Division, raced out to a 13-0 lead and led by as many as 24 points before settling for an 11-point (44-33) lead at intermission.
In the second half, the Spartans scored the first five points of the frame, increasing their lead to 44-33 to play after JJ Matthews connected on a pair of free throws at the 18:44 mark. From there, the Spartans methodically began to march their way into the semifinals, going on a 9-0 run midway through the second half to take a commanding 66-38 lead with 9:41 remaining following a 3-point jumper by Joe Bryant, Jr.
That margin increased to a game-high 30-point cushion at 86-56 with just over a minute remaining when Daryl hit the second of two free throw attempts.
Norfolk State’s victory over the Eagles snapped NCCU’s 11-game winning streak at the Scope Arena, as well as the Eagles’ three-year hold on the tournament championship. Additionally, it revenged the Spartans’ loss to NCCU in the 2019 tournament final.
“This was a great team win,” Spartans head coach Robert Jones said. “We told our kids that if you want to be the champs, you have to beat the champs.
“We preach defense. We preach urgency. We played at an extremely high level those first few minutes of the game. We told our team (about the North Carolina A&T situation) and they responded. We knew the urgency, that we were 40 minutes away from going to Indianapolis.”
For the game, Joe Bryant, Jr. had a career-night, scoring 30 points and hitting 10-of-16 shots from the field (62.5%) and 7-of-10 from three-point range (70%). Joining Bryant in double figures for the Spartans were Kashaun Hicks with 13 points and Devante Carter with 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
North Carolina Central, which ended its season with a 5-9 record, was led by C.J. Keyser’s 19 points and Deven Palmer’s 14.