NCAA News Wire
Norfolk State 75, Howard 49
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
In a key Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference showdown for Norfolk State, the Spartans nearly gave up a big first-half lead before settling down and pulling away late to rout the Howard Bison on Monday night, 75-49, in Norfolk, Va.
Guard Pendarvis Williams helped the Spartans jump out to a 36-18 lead thanks to a pair of first-half runs of 10-1 and 13-5 for a comfortable edge at intermission.
But Howard closed the game to 11 points in the second half before Williams — who finished with a team-high 25 points, four rebounds and three steals — took over and allowed Norfolk State (14-10 overall, 8-2 in MEAC) to firm its hold in the race for the regular-season conference title.
Norfolk will try and hang on to its second-place spot in the conference standings down the stretch as its tough late-season schedule features a matchup against first-place North Carolina Central, two against third-place Hampton and one against fifth-placed Coppin State.
Howard freshman guard James Daniel finished with a team-high 25 points, but it was not enough to keep the Bison (6-19, 4-6) from losing their second straight and four out of the last five.
Daniel drilled a 3-pointer with 10:49 left in the game to narrow the gap to 52-41, forcing a Norfolk State timeout. But the Spartans responded by going on a 14-0 run, while their defense held Howard to just eight points for the remainder of the second half.
No other Howard players managed to find double figures. Center Oliver Ellison added seven points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Norfolk State guards Marese Phelps and Anell Alexis added 10 points each in the win, while Phelps added five rebounds and three steals.
Norfolk State’s recent dominance in the series continued as the Spartans are winners of eight in a row dating back to 2010 and hold a lopsided 37-9 edge all-time against the Bison.
The Spartans, who won their second game in a row Monday, will try to make it three straight when they return to action Saturday at home against Hampton. Howard, which lost its second straight Monday, travels to face the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday.
