NORFOLK, Va. (NSUSpartans.com) – The Norfolk State men’s basketball team jumped out to a 25-point halftime lead on the way to an easy 94-66 win over Delaware State on Saturday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.
The Spartans connected on 15 3-pointers and led by as much as 33 in the second half in one of their biggest wins ever against another MEAC school. Junior Joe Bryant Jr. led the onslaught with 24 points, shooting a career-best 6-of-9 from 3-point range with five rebounds and five assists.
NSU shot better than 53 percent from the floor and made the third-most 3-pointers in a game in school history. The Spartans improved to 9-6 overall and 4-3 in the MEAC.
Along with Bryant, who finished one point short of his career high, senior Devante Carter shot 6-of-9 for 18 points, while junior Jalen Hawkins made 6-of-8 overall for 17 points.
DSU trailed by at least 21 the entire second half despite nearly doubling its output from the first half. The Hornets remained winless on the year at 0-11 overall, 0-6 in the league.
Delaware State led for just a few minutes at the start of the game. Bryant gave the Spartans the lead for good with a 3-pointer at the 15:08 mark, part of a stretch in which he scored 11 straight points for NSU. Hawkins knocked down a trey eight minutes into the contest for the team’s first double-digit lead, and he and senior Kashaun Hicks later hit back-to-back treys for a 24-9 advantage more than halfway through the opening period.
It was still a 15-point lead after Hawkins slammed one home over a DSU defender for a SportsCenter highlight and-1, but the Hornets were able to cut the deficit to 10 with five minutes to go in the half. It was all NSU from there, however, as the Spartans closed the half on a 19-4 run for a 48-23 edge at the break. Bryant and sophomore Daryl Anderson each hit a pair of 3-pointers as they extended the lead to as much as 27 late in the half.
A total of 10 of the team’s 15 3-pointers came in the first half. DSU did shoot nearly 70 percent in the second half after a cold first 20 minutes, part of a 47-percent overall shooting night for the Hornets.
The Spartans led by 28 early in the second half, and Hawkins completed another 3-point play for a 30-point edge, 70-40, with 11 minutes on the clock. After a 12-4 run by DSU made it a 21-point ballgame, the Spartans scored the next eight points and 14 of the next 16 for their largest advantage of the game, 92-59.
Senior Kyonze Chavis finished out the 14-2 run with a 4-point play to give the Spartans that 33-point edge with less than three minutes left in the contest.
The Spartans outscored the Hornets 23-8 in fastbeak points. They also made 17-of-19 from the free throw line and held a 32-24 edge in rebounding.
For DSU, Myles Carter led the way with 19 points, and Zach Kent joined him in double figures with 11. The Hornets made eight 3-pointers on the night.
