Top-seeded Norfolk State survives scare against Delaware State, moves on in MEAC Tournament
The MEAC’s best team got together with its worst Wednesday at Scope, and the result was not quite what most would’ve expected.
But it was just good enough for Norfolk State.
Jalen Hawkins scored 17 points and the top-seeded Spartans did just enough down the stretch in a harrowing 74-66 win over eighth-seeded Delaware State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament.
The victory advances NSU (22-6) to Friday’s semifinals to face either No. 4 Morgan State or No. 5 South Carolina State, who meet at 6 p.m. today.
The loss was the 23rd straight for the Hornets (2-25), who last won Nov. 16 against Regent, which isn’t even in the NCAA. Delaware State entered the game 357th out of a possible 359 RPI ranking.
But NSU’s staff was keenly aware that the Hornets, who didn’t beat a Division I team all season, had played several league teams close.
“You have to give their coaching staff credit and their players credit,” Spartans associate head coach Jamal Brown said. “They’ve been playing really well the last 10 games.
“We knew it was going to be a battle coming into the game.”
It was that. Though the Hornets’ only lead was 5-4, they simply wouldn’t go away.
An 11-0 run gave the Spartans a seemingly comfortable 56-41 lead with seven minutes left, but a series of Delaware State 3-pointers turned it back into a nail-biter.
NSU made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 41 seconds to keep the Hornets at elbow’s length.
Myles Carter scored 27 points for Delaware State, which shot 38% and made 9 of 25 from 3-point range.
The Spartans, who shot 42%, won despite committing 21 turnovers that were converted into 25 points.
Kris Bankston and Dana Tate both scored 14 points for NSU, which hauled in 41 rebounds to the Hornets’ 25.
Delaware State wasn’t going anywhere in the first half as the Spartans never led by more than six. Carter’s 3-pointer from the right wing at the horn trimmed NSU’s lead to 31-30 at halftime.
The Spartans shot 33% to Delaware State’s 45% in the half.
“I’m a little disappointed in the way that we played and how sloppy we were,” Brown said in a postgame interview in place of head coach Robert Jones. “But hopefully, we were able to get the jitters out and be ready to go for Friday.
“It’s about survive and advance, and that’s what we did tonight.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com
