ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Courtesy of NSU Athletics) – The Norfolk State men’s basketball team came up big when it mattered most on Saturday, holding off South Carolina State 79-72 at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
Jamarii Thomas led the Spartans (10-7, 1-0 MEAC) with 16 points, shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Daryl Anderson recorded 11 of his 13 points in the second half, draining three 3-pointers.
It took a few minutes for either team to get things going offensively. After Thomas and South Carolina State’s RaQuan Brown traded 3-pointers for the first points of the game, the teams clamped down at the defensive end.
Allen Betrand got the Spartans into double-digits first, hitting a mid-range jumper just outside of the paint. South Carolina State knocked down a shot from behind the arc to tie the game at 12-12 a few minutes later.
The Spartans found a groove by getting to the free throw line, driving inside rim early and often. NSU drew 16 fouls in the first half of play, taking advantage with an 18-of-20 (90.0 percent) success rate at the charity stripe.
Norfolk State built a slim advantage with the physical play but began to separate when the team started converting from deep. George Beale Jr. knocked down a triple late in the period, before Kuluel Mading gave the Spartans a double-digit lead with another on the next offensive possession.
South Carolina State responded with a couple of successful trips down the floor, but Tyrese Jenkins drained a deep shot from behind the arc to send the Spartans to halftime with a 40-28 lead.
Anderson caught fire immediately in the second half. After recording just two points in the opening period, Anderson drained a pair of jumpers within minutes of the teams returning to the floor. The second came from 3-point land after an emphatic block by Christian Ings, forcing South Carolina State to take a timeout to regroup.
Anderson hit his third 3-pointer of the day a few minutes later, eventually tacking on a fourth in front of the Norfolk State bench. South Carolina State had pulled within five before the latter.
George Beale Jr. provided a pair of crucial baskets in the second half, helping slow down Bulldog runs. Jamarii Thomas made his first field goal of the half with about five minutes on the clock to give Norfolk State 70-57, but a 10-2 swing from SCSU cut the lead to five.
The Spartans remained poise, as Betrand found Tyrel Bladen for an alley-oop slam on the next possession. The basket extinguished South Carolina State’s window for a comeback, as NSU closed out a victory to start conference play.
