Norfolk State registered its first conference win of the season in memorable fashion Saturday, beating Delaware State 66-64 in Dover.
The Spartans (7-11, 1-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) beat the Hornets (5-12, 0-2) in the final seconds. Elijah Jamison drove to the basket and shot, but DSU deflected it. Adrean Newton caught the ball for a rebound and made a layup with 2.2 seconds to go.
After a timeout, the Hornets threw a long pass and managed to get a final shot off from near midcourt, but Ponce James’ try missed off the back of the rim.
NSU trailed 45-39, scored nine straight points to move ahead 48-45, and the game was close thereafter.
Anthony McComb III had 23 points, hitting 7 of 8 field-goal attempts, for NSU. Keyontae Lewis scored 18, and Jamison came off the bench to score 16.
For DSU, James had 22 points, five assists and four steals. Corey Perkins added 12 points and Camian Shell 11. Miles Webb had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Spartans concluded a 10-game road stretch spanning 48 days between home contests. NSU returns home Monday night, hosting Maryland Eastern Shore at Echols Hall for the Spartans’ first home game since Nov. 25.
James Madison 70, Old Dominion 69: ODU went ahead by 19 points but suffered a heartbreaking loss to JMU.
The Dukes (9-8, 2-3 Sun Belt) gained a split of the “Royal Rivalry” series in dramatic fashion. They scored the game’s final nine points in Harrisonburg to overtake the Monarchs (5-13, 2-4), who went ahead 25-9 by scoring 18 consecutive points and were ahead 44-27 at the half. ODU sank eight first-half 3-pointers.
KC Shaw had 18 points and seven rebounds for ODU. Robert Davis Jr., hot in the first half but cold in the second, had 13 points, while Jordan Battle had 11.
JMU relied on its inside tandem of Justin McBride, who had 29 points and sank 11 of 12 free throws, and Gabe Newhof, who had 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
After Davis missed a free throw with 25 seconds to go, Newhof scored on a short jumper with about two seconds left while falling to his backside and drew a foul to put JMU ahead 70-69. He missed the free throw, and ODU rebounded. A few timeouts later, the Monarchs’ Drew McKenna launched an inbounds pass to Battle, who missed a contested close-range shot off the glass that didn’t hit the rim. ODU was hoping for a foul on Ike Cornish but didn’t get it.
A fast-break layup by LJ Thomas put ODU up 69-61 with just less than two minutes to play, but ODU never scored again.
“We didn’t make enough plays, especially down the stretch, on both ends of the court,” Monarchs coach Mike Jones said on odusports.com. “It wasn’t pretty in the beginning, but we found our groove. Unfortunately, we went away from a lot of the things that got us ahead in the first half.”
Drexel 64, William & Mary 58: W&M completed a frustrating 0-3 trip Saturday with a defeat in Philadelphia.
Shane Blakeney and Kevon Vanderhorst had 13 points apiece for the Dragons (8-10, 2-3 Coastal Athletic Association), who shot 51% (24 of 47). The Tribe hit 37% (22 of 60), including 22% (5 of 23) from 3-point range, and was outrebounded 37-28.
Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi and Kyle Pulliam scored 10 each and Reese Miller had nine for W&M (11-6, 2-3), which trailed almost the entire game but pulled to 57-56 on Ryan Jackson’s layup with 1:22 remaining. Drexel’s Victor Panov sank a 3-pointer with 56 seconds on the clock, and the Dragons weren’t threatened again.
VWU game suspended: With Averett (9-3, 2-1 Old Dominion Athletic Conference) leading Virginia Wesleyan 47-43 and 9:39 remaining in Danville, the game was stopped for safety reasons. It will be resumed at a date to be determined.
Heavy rain, coupled with warmer-than-normal temperatures, led to unusual condensation. Several players had slipped at both ends of the floor throughout the second half, prompting officials to halt play. The Marlins (8-4, 3-0) entered the day alone atop the conference.
Amari Moorer was leading VWU with 11 points and eight rebounds.
George Mason 86, VCU 80: Jermahri “Fatt” Hill and Riley Allenspach scored 16 points each for the Patriots (16-1, 4-0 Atlantic 10) as they won in Fairfax. Allenspach shot 7 of 8 from the field. Kory Mincy had 15 points in the seventh victory in a row for the Patriots.
Lazar Djokovic led the Rams (11-6, 2-2), who trailed for the final 9:06, with 23 points. Terrence Hill Jr. added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Furman 69, VMI 48: Alex Wilkins scored 17 points as the Paladins (12-5, 3-1 Southern Conference) stifled the Keydets (6-11, 1-3) in Greenville, South Carolina. TJ Johnson had 15 points and six steals for VMI, which shot just 27% (15 of 56).
UNC Asheville 91, Radford 72: Kameron Taylor provided 27 points, five assists and three steals for the visiting Bulldogs (8-10, 2-2 Big South), who ended Radford’s four-game winning streak. DJ Patrick added 24 points.
Dennis Parker Jr. led the Highlanders (9-9, 2-1) with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Longwood 77, Presbyterian 70: Elijah Tucker had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Lancers (10-9, 2-2 Big South) handled the Blue Hose (8-10, 1-2) in Farmville to end a two-game skid. Jaylen Benard had 11 points and VCU transfer Fats Billups 10 for Longwood.
Jaylen Peterson scored 21 for Presbyterian.
Navy 76, Lafayette 50: Aidan Kehoe scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Jordan Pennick scored 20 points for the host Midshipmen (12-5, 4-0 Patriot League). Austin Benigni finished with 17 points as the Midshipmen extended their winning streak to eight games.
For the Leopards (4-13, 1-3), Christian Humphrey had nine points and six rebounds.
Boston University 100, Army 91: Michael McNair’s 28 points, five rebounds and five assists propelled the Terriers (7-10, 2-2 Patriot League) to a home win. Chance Gladden added 26 points and six assists for BU. Ryan Curry finished with 24 points and eight assists for the Black Knights (7-10, 1-3).
New Mexico 91, Air Force 49: Jake Hall’s 24 points propelled the Lobos (13-3, 4-1 Mountain West) past the Falcons (3-13, 0-5) in Colorado. Tomislav Buljan had 14 rebounds and three steals. Kam Sanders scored 13 and Caleb Walker 11 for Air Force.
