Dover, Del. (Jan. 13, 2014) --- Delaware State pushed MEAC preseason favorite Norfolk State to the final second before falling 58-56 in Memorial Hall this evening. The Hornets had the last shot, but A.J. Thomas missed a running three-point attempt off the back rim as time expired.
The Spartans led by 57-52 after two free throws with 20 seconds left.
Thomas scored a basket on a runner in the lane to cut Norfolk State's lead to 57-54 with 15 seconds remaining. The Spartans committed a turnover on their next possession, and DSU's Kendall Gray scored on a follow-up dunk to pull the Hornets to within 57-56 with 10 seconds left.
Norfolk State's Malcolm Hawkins missed one-of-two free throws with seven seconds remaining to set up Delaware State's frantic last second shot.
Gray recorded his second straight double-double and fourth of the season, tallying a career-high 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, each a game high. He was eight-for-12 from the field and four-of-five at the free throw line.
Tyshawn Bell (three three-pointers) added 11 points, while Nick Doyle (4-4 FGs) came off the bench to score a season-high nine for the Hornets.
Pendarvis Williams led Norfolk State with 14 points.
The score was 28-28 at the break. Norfolk State scored on its first three possessions of the second half and opened up a 34-28 lead after a basket by Riley Maye with 18:29 left to play.
Bell answered with three-pointers on back-to-back Hornet possessions to tie the game 34-34 less than a minute later.
Neither team led by more than three points and there were four ties over the next 11-and-a-half minutes.
Delaware State forced the last tie, 48-48, on a dunk by Gray with 6:19 left in the game.
Norfolk State answered with a 5-0 run, and opened up a 53-48 lead on a three-point play by Anell Alexis with 5:39 remaining.
Casey Walker hit a three-point shot and Gray hit one of two free throws to pull the Hornets to within 53-52 with 1:31 to go.
Delaware State held the Spartans without a field goal until the 14:03 mark of the first half. The Hornets opened up a 14-7 lead on a jumper by Doyle with 11:37 left in the first half. DSU led 16-9 before Norfolk State fought back. Maye capped off an 8-0 run with a short jumper to give the Spartans their first lead, 17-16, with 6:34 left in the opening frame.
The Hornets were 21-for-52 from the field (40.4%), including six-of-21 from three-point territory (28.6%). DSU was 8-for-11 at the free throw line.
Norfolk State was just two-for-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc and 19-of-48 overall from the field (39.6%).
The Spartans won the rebound battle 34-32.
Delaware State begins a two-game road swing on Saturday (Jan. 18) at North Carolina Central (4:00 p.m.). The Hornets wrap up the trip with a visit to defending MEAC champ North Carolina A&T on Monday (Jan. 20) at 8:00 p.m.
STINGERS
Gray has reached double figures in scoring in each of the seven games … Walker had eight points to stand at 1,264 for the his career, one shy of tying Bernard Campbell (1983-85) for ninth place on the Hornets' all-time scoring list.
