NORFOLK — For the first time in nearly seven weeks, Norfolk State’s men’s basketball team finally walked back onto its own floor Monday night with something resembling normalcy.
The rims were familiar. The locker room was familiar. Even the tension inside Echols Hall felt familiar — the kind that usually settles in once MEAC play arrives.
But home didn’t bring relief.
Maryland Eastern Shore spoiled Norfolk State’s long-awaited return, closing the final minute at the free-throw line to secure a 74-70 win and hand the Spartans another reminder that this season’s problems aren’t tied to where they play.
“I don’t know, it felt the same to me,” head coach Robert Jones said of finally playing at home. “We sucked.”
The loss dropped Norfolk State to 7-12 overall and 1-2 in MEAC play, a jarring position for a program accustomed to dictating the league race. It also marked another missed opportunity to stabilize after a two-month stretch that saw the Spartans spend nearly all of November and December on the road.
Monday’s game featured 11 lead changes and 13 ties, with neither team able to separate for long. UMES briefly created space with a 7-0 run midway through the half, pushing ahead 32–24 before Norfolk State responded.
Keyontae Lewis fueled a closing 7-0 burst to end the half, scoring six of the Spartans’ final points to trim the deficit to 32-31 at the break. Lewis finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Norfolk State carried that momentum into the second half, reclaiming the lead for the first time in more than nine minutes of game time during a quick 7-2 run sparked by Jordan Leaks and Lewis. For a brief stretch, the Spartans looked poised to turn a long-awaited homecoming into a reset.
Instead, the game tightened again.
Elijah Jamison (15 points, six assists) helped steady the offense as both teams traded baskets and stops down the stretch. A pair of dueling 3-pointers — Leaks for Norfolk State, Jaden Cooper for UMES — kept the margin razor-thin with just over two minutes remaining.
Jamison’s feed to Melo Baines for a layup with 1:55 left gave Norfolk State a 67-64 edge. After UMES tied the game at the free-throw line, Leaks was fouled on a jumper and made one of two, putting the Spartans ahead 68-67 with 42 seconds remaining.
The final possessions unraveled quickly.
UMES’ Michael Teal converted an “and-one” layup with 21 seconds left to reclaim the lead. He missed the free throw, but the Hawks grabbed the offensive rebound and split a pair at the line. Norfolk State then turned the ball over, forcing a foul situation that Cooper capitalized on by making four straight free throws to close the game.
Norfolk State guard Elijah Jamison (2) goes up for a shot during a loss to Maryland Eastern Shore Echols Hall on Monday night. KENDALL WARNER/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Jones opted not to call a timeout on the possession that led to the turnover, citing previous late-game experiences.
“We let it play out against Del State and we were able to get something out of it,” Jones said. “I called a timeout against (North Carolina) Central, and we didn’t execute the play. With the odds of what’s worked so far, I didn’t call the timeout.”
Execution — or the lack of it — was Jones’ central frustration afterward.
“For us, it was terrible honestly,” he said. “Just have to have a better will to win, a better pride, and we don’t have that right now. … This sucks right here, man. And I’ll be the first one — I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. This is bad right now.”
The stakes of Friday’s loss extend beyond a single night. Norfolk State hasn’t been 7-12 overall heading into mid-January, nor opened MEAC play at 1-2, since the 2017-18 season. The Spartans also rarely drop multiple home games in a season — something that last occurred in 2020-21.
Conference play was supposed to be the reset. Instead, Norfolk State now finds itself needing help in the MEAC race far earlier than expected, as North Carolina Central and UMES are both 3-0 in conference play and South Carolina State is 2-1.
“It should’ve kicked in already,” Jones said of urgency. “That’s the frustration.”
Home is no longer an excuse. The Spartans are back where they’re supposed to be.
What they’re still searching for is the standard that once made nights like this the exception — not the trend.
