Senior Jermaine Bishop made five three-pointers and finished with 20 points to pace Norfolk State past Howard by a 71-63 score on Saturday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium.
Bishop went 5-of-7 from deep for his fourth 20-point game of the year as NSU improved to 3-0 in the MEAC. The Spartans never trailed in the contest but never led by more than 13. In the end, the game finished just like halftime, with the Spartans ahead by eight.
Senior Steven Whitley added 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. He hit two shots from deep as he and Bishop accounted for all seven of the team’s 3-pointers on the day. Junior Devante Carter totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, adding three steals to his ledger.
The Spartans improved to 7-11 overall, while Howard fell to 2-15 overall, 0-3 in the league. Nate Garvey made 6-of-11 overall, 5-of-8 from deep, for 17 points, five assists and four steals to lead the Bison.
It took them four and a half minutes to get their first field goal, as NSU led 12-4 in the early going. Bishop sank his third trey of the half to push the advantage to double digits. The lead was 13 at 22-9 with 8:48 on the clock after Whitley banked one in from the left wing at the shot clock buzzer.
The Bison got to within seven before the Spartans scored seven of the next nine points to make it 32-20 with four minutes left in the first half. The Bison scored the last four points to cut NSU’s lead to eight, 34-26, after the first 20 minutes of play.
Bishop and Garvey each had 14 in the first half.
The Spartans were again ahead by 13 early in the second half when Bishop connected on another 3-pointer. Carter had the next six points for the Spartans over five minutes of play, as the Bison were able to slice the deficit to eight midway through the second stanza.
They were within six after Kyle Foster’s 3-point play, but Whitley made another 3-pointer with 8:13 to go for a nine-point edge. In a very even second half, the lead fluctuated between seven and 10 points most of the rest of the way. Howard again got as close as six before sophomore Joe Bryant Jr. completed a 3-point play at the 2:01 mark.
Norfolk State stretched the lead to 12 in the last minute of play.
The Spartans shot nearly 41 percent from the field, holding the Bison to a 38 percent overall clip. NSU was also 20-of-27 from the free throw line and held a 41-34 edge on the glass.
Aside from Garvey, Charles Williams reached double figures for Howard with 14 points and six rebounds, although it came on 5-of-18 shooting. Wayne Bristol Jr. added 11 points, also on just 3-of-13 shooting.
Bryant finished just short of double digits with nine points. Sophomore Chris Ford added six points and a career-high seven rebounds.
NSU will host Maryland Eastern Shore next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.
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