NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Echols Hall has proven to be a tough place for opponents to play in recent years and Norfolk State defended its home court successfully once again Monday night on both the men's and women's sides.
The Spartan men avenged an earlier loss to Morgan State, 69-60, while the women kept their MEAC record unblemished with a 90-46 victory over the Bears.
Larry Vickers watched his Spartan women jump out of the gate strong. Diamond Johnson connected on a three-pointer with 4:55 to go in the first quarter to give Norfolk State a 19-4 lead and the green and gold never looked back. The squad held Morgan State to just seven points in the second frame to head into halftime up 46-21.
The Spartans kept their feet on the gas after the break, swelling the advantage to 40 points in the third and cruising to the win.
Johnson paced Norfolk State with 22 points, while Kierra Wheeler added 14 points and seven rebounds. Six Spartans scored in double figures and NSU forced the Bears into 29 turnovers, scoring 38 points off those turnovers. The green and gold also shot 64 percent from the floor on the night.
Norfolk State improved to 24-4, 11-0 in MEAC play, and finished its home schedule a perfect 13-0. The Spartans head to South Carolina State this Saturday.
On the men's side, Norfolk State picked up another conference win and got Morgan State back for the 78-74 Bears victory in Baltimore last month.
The first half saw the two teams battle closely early, though the Spartans created a bit of cushion. Brian Moore Jr. knocked down a three-pointer to give NSU the 24-16 lead with 7:56 remaining in the opening stanza. Morgan State would claw back and cut the lead to two, but Robert Jones would see his group head into the locker room with a 30-26 advantage at the break.
The green and gold would widen their lead to 11 points at two different points in the second half, but Morgan State wasn't going away. pulling to within five with less than five minutes to play. However, Terrance Jones would answer with a triple to push the gap back to eight points and Norfolk State would go on for the win.
Christian Ings paced the Spartans with 12 points, while Moore, Jones and Chris Fields Jr. chipped in 11 points apiece. Jalen Myers added a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kuluel Mading pulled down 14 boards to lead the charge on the glass.
NSU crushed the battle of the boards, 52-32 as the squad improved to 20-8, 10-1 in MEAC play and will also visit South Carolina State this Saturday afternoon.
Both the Spartan men and women honored their seniors during the evening's festivities. Eight Norfolk State men and two women were recognized in front of the Echols Hall crowd.
