NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Thursday's MEAC quarterfinals were met with mixed results from Norfolk State.
The Spartan women triumphed with a 69-43 win over Morgan State, while the men fell short in an 88-82 defeat at the hands of South Carolina State.
Jermaine Woods and the green and gold moved one step closer to their conference four-peat. NSU held a 35-21 advantage at halftime and never looked back, growing the lead to 20 points by the middle of the third quarter and cruising to the win.
The third-seeded Spartans were led by Anjanae Richardson's 18 points, which paced four Norfolk State players in double figures. Da'Brya Clark chipped in 13 points, Jasha Clinton scored 12 points and dished out seven assists and LeAire Nicks added 10 points and nine boards.
NSU held Morgan State to 20.8 percent shooting and the Bears connected on just one of their 13 three-point attempts. The Spartans also forced MSU into 22 turnovers.
Norfolk State improved to 17-13 on the year and moves on to face second-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore in Friday's semifinals. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Spartan men were not as fortunate, falling into an early hole and battle to claw back for most of the night in a rematch of last year's MEAC championship game.
South Carolina State opened up an 11 point lead less than ten minutes into the game and led 39-30 at halftime.
The second half saw the Bulldogs open up their edge to as many as 15 points with less than six minutes remaining, proving to be too much for Norfolk State to overcome as the team's quest for back-to-back MEAC crowns will fall short.
Elijah Jamison paced Norfolk State with 24 points off the bench, while Anthony McComb added 21 points. Devon Ellis rounded out the Spartans in double figures with 14 points. South Carolina State's Jayden Johnson scored a game-high 28 points.
Norfolk State wraps up its season with a 15-17 record. It marks their first losing season since 2017-2018.
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