Zaynah Robinson scores on a mid-range jumper during Saturday's game vs. UMES.
NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men’s basketball team needed double overtime, but the Spartans outscored Florida A&M by 12 in the second extra session to defeat the Rattlers by a 77-65 margin on Saturday night at the Al Lawson Center.
The Rattlers overcame a 14-point second half deficit in a game in which neither team could get much going. Both teams shot less than 40 percent and also struggled from the free throw line. NSU, and more specifically senior Jonathan Wade, finally got going in overtime to keep its win streak intact.
In the end, NSU won its 10th straight and maintained its hold on second place in the league. The Spartans improved to 11-2 in the MEAC and 14-13 overall. The win guaranteed them a bye in the MEAC tournament and improved their chances to finish in the top 2 in the regular season standings. Hampton and Morgan State each have four losses and are tied for third in the league.
With NSU leading scorer Wade struggling most of the game, senior Kerwin Okoro and junior Zaynah Robinson stepped up big time for the Spartans. Robinson shot 9-of-19 from the floor and totaled 20 points, a career-high seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in a career-best 49 minutes of action. Okoro, meanwhile, shot 5-of-10 from 3-point range with 19 points, a career-best eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals while also playing a career-high in minutes (41).
In fact, for the second time this month, the Spartans set their Division I record for rebounds in a game. They held a 66-43 advantage over Florida A&M on the glass, breaking the previous best of 60 set at Savannah State on Feb. 6.
Florida A&M (7-19, 5-8 MEAC) got 20 points and eight rebounds from Desmond Williams. NSU won its second double-overtime game in as many seasons after also defeating Howard last year.
Wade finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Florida A&M for his fifth straight double-double. He only had five points during the 40 minutes of regulation but made 7-of-8 from the foul line in overtime to help secure the win.
It only came down to overtime after FAMU’s Marcus Barham hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 56-56. NSU could not convert on the other end, but the Spartans took the lead in overtime thanks to three points from junior Bryan Gellineau.
NSU led by three, but Florida A&M eventually tied the score at 61-61 on a jumper from Elijah Mays with slightly less than a minute to go in the first overtime. Wade made two from the foul line before Williams answered with a bucket on the other end. Neither team could get a shot to fall late, forcing the second OT.
That was about all Florida A&M could muster, as the Rattlers missed all seven of their shots in the second extra session. Wade had seven points during that time, and Norfolk State scored the last nine points of the contest to stretch the final margin to a misleading 12.
Florida A&M shot less than 30 percent from the field in the first half alone. Neither team had much offense early on, as the score remained 8-8 after eight minutes of action. Barham completed a 3-point play with 10:42 to go to put the Rattlers up by five, but NSU answered with an 11-1 run to turn the game to its favor.
Capped by a 3-pointer from junior Stavian Allen, the Spartans scored seven of the last eight points to pull ahead at the half, 30-21.
They quickly pushed the lead to 14 early in the second half, but FAMU did not go quietly. The Rattlers outscored NSU 23-7 over an eight-minute span to momentarily go up by two, 46-44, with 8:54 left. Okoro had a couple of big 3-pointers to put NSU back ahead. But Williams completed a 3-point play, Barham made two from the line and the Spartans twice missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to lead up to Barham’s late game-tying trey.
The Spartans shot 12-of-23 from the foul line, including 1-of-7 in regulation. They also made 29-of-74 overall (39.2 percent) from the floor.
Wade, who did not start, helped NSU’s bench outscore FAMU’s by a 28-3 margin. Thanks in part to a season-high 18 offensive rebounds, the Spartans also held a sizeable advantage in second-chance points, 20-6.
Gellineau finished with seven points and eight boards. Junior Jordan Butler added nine rebounds, and sophomore Alex Long totaled seven to give NSU six players with at least seven on the night.
Barham added 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks, and Mays totaled 10 for FAMU. The Rattlers shot 24-of-75 (32.0 percent), including just 3-of-21 from 3-point range.
NSU will close out its two-game road trip at Bethune-Cookman on Monday night.
