NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- The passion and excitement of the MEAC Tournament was in full force in downtown Norfolk on Wednesday as the event tipped off at The Scope. Eight women's teams and eight men's teams began the day with hopes of making a march to the big dance.
Norfolk State's women played in the tournament's opening game and cruised to a 61-37 victory over South Carolina State. The Spartans entered as the MEAC's regular season champion and as the tournament's top seed. The win improves NSU to 24-6 on the season.
The Bulldogs made things interesting early, tying the score at 11-11 with 6:06 remaining in the first half, but the green and gold went into halftime with a 22-14 advantage.
A 13-0 Spartan run to open the third quarter gave Norfolk State all the cushion it needed as it rolled into the MEAC semifinals.
Kierra Wheeler paced the green and gold with a big double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. NSU forced South Carolina State into 24 turnovers and scored 25 points off of those takeaways. The Spartans also dominated in the paint, outscoring SCSU to the tune of 32-10 and owned second chance points, 17-4.
Norfolk State moves on to face either Coppin State or North Carolina Central in the semifinals on Friday at noon.
On hand to watch the Spartan women capture a tournament opening victory were the Norfolk State men. They open their tournament schedule with the quarterfinals on Thursday night at approximately 8:30 PM against Coppin State. The Spartans finished the regular season 9-5 in league play and enter the playoff as the number three seed.
Joe Bryant Jr. joined his teammates in the seats and spoke to News 3 about claiming his second straight MEAC Player of the Year honor.
"This is what I wanted," the Lake Taylor graduate said. "I wanted back-to-back player of the years. Just trying to win another ring for my last year so winning the ring would definitely cap it off."
The fifth year guard and his teammates are itching to get back on the court after a lackluster ending to their regular season. Norfolk State lost three of its last four games, including a lopsided defeat at the hands of Howard in the regular season finale.
"Give credit where credit is due," Bryant said. "Howard, they're definitely a good team. They definitely earned it, but it definitely adds fuel to the fire because that should've been ours."
The Norfolk State men are in search of their third straight MEAC Tournament title, while the women hope to claim just the second conference championship in program history and first since 2002.
