Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Monday, Jan. 26; 8 p.m.
NSU at Savannah State, Tiger Arena
Radio: Star 1310 AM, Live Audio | Hot 91.1 FM, Live Audio
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team wraps up a stretch of eight of 10 games on the road when the Spartans face Savannah State on Monday night at Tiger Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. It will mark the third straight year NSU has made the journey to Savannah without the Tigers making a return trip to Norfolk.

The Spartans stand 13-9 overall but more importantly 6-1 in the MEAC after Saturday's victory at South Carolina State. NSU sits alone in second place in the conference standings behind North Carolina Central (7-0).

Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on Star 1310 AM as well as Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon and Terrell Ducre' on the call. Live audio is available through the Star 1310 website as well as through the Hot 91.1 website. Both feeds are available on smartphones through the Star 1310 website or through www.TuneIn.com or the TuneIn Radio App (search for "WNSB") for Hot 91.1.

Live stats and a live video feed will also be available.

Series History
Of all MEAC foes, Savannah State is the one school NSU has played the least by far. The Spartans own a 6-3 all-time record against the Tigers, with all six wins coming since 2004-05. Savannah State won three straight in the late 1950's and early 60's, with a 44-year gap between meetings.

About Savannah State
The Tigers came back to defeat Hampton on Saturday for their first MEAC win of the year. They now stand 5-14 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Still, Savannah State is a team that scores less than 56 per game while shooting 40 percent overall, just 26.2 percent from 3-point range and 58.5 percent from the free throw line. The Tigers have been outrebounded by nearly seven boards per game and have committed a little more than 18 turnovers per contest. On the other hand, Savannah State also forces nearly 18 turnovers while averaging 9.4 steals. Terel Hall averages 10.7 points, 2.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Alante Fenner ranks second on the team with 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds, and Saadiq Muhammad contributes 7.6 points and 4.2 boards.

Last Time Out
NSU never trailed, and a three-point deficit at the half was as close as South Carolina State could get in a 76-63 Spartan win on Saturday night at the S-H-M Memorial Center. NSU shot 14-of-18 in the second half and a Division I record 65.9 percent overall (29-of-44 shooting). Jeff Short hit 9-of-13 for a game-high 20 points, while Malik Thomas broke out of a slump with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. D'Shon Taylor had 16 points and eight rebounds, and RaShid Gaston added 13 points and 11 boards. NSU committed a season-high 22 turnovers, had a 40-31 edge on the boards and outscored the Bulldogs 39-28 in points in the paint.

Player Tidbits
Jeff Short
 • 22.3 points, 62.0 percent shooting, 42.9 percent 3-point shooting and 1.8 assists last six games
 • Also averaging 23.2 points, 57.9 % shooting, 44.8 % 3-pointers, 81.7 % free throws last 11 games; Has led the team in scoring nine of those 11 contests
 • Averaging 21.9 points, 64.3 % shooting, 46.2 % 3-point shooting and 2.0 assists in MEAC games
 • Has scored at least 15 points in 17 straight games
 • 10 20-point games in last 14 contests
 • 12th 20-point game of season with 20 at South Carolina State
 • Shooting 97-of-162 (59.9 percent) from 2-point range
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in scoring (20.1) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.4), 2nd in 3-point field goals (2.4), 3rd in free throw % (83.3), 4th in minutes (34.0) and 5th in field goal % (52.3)
 • Stands 14th in the nation in scoring (20.1); Also ranks in total points (5, 423), total field goals (11, 141), field goal percentage (63, 51.5), free throw percentage (72, 84.1), 3-point field goals per game (105, 2.43) and minutes (126, 33:54)

RaShid Gaston
 • Averaging 16.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 70.0 % shooting in MEAC games
 • 32-of-45 field goals (71.1 percent) last five games
 • 13 10+ rebound games in last 17 contests
 • Recorded 11th double-double of season with 13 points and 11 rebounds at South Carolina State
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in rebounds (9.6) and defensive rebounds (6.6), 3rd in field goal % (60.8), 4th in offensive rebounds (3.0) and 8th in scoring (14.4) and blocks (1.2)
 • Stands eighth in the nation in field goal % (60.4); Also ranks in double-doubles (14th, 10), rebounding (25, 9.5), total rebounds (26, 180), defensive rebounds (31, 6.37), offensive rebounds (51, 3.11), blocks (210, 1.16) and scoring (241, 14.4)
 • Ranks 33rd in NCAA Division I in career field goal percentage (.557), 42nd in rebounding average (7.2) and 44th in double-doubles (15)
 • Stands 8th in NSU records with a .559 career shooting percentage

Jamel Fuentes
 • Ranks 3rd in the MEAC in assists (4.4) and 4th in assist-turnover ratio (1.8)
 • Stands 85th in the nation in assists (4.5) and 132nd in assist-turnover ratio (1.93)
 • Ranks 14th in NCAA Division I in career assists (503), 15th in assist-turnover ratio (1.91), 46th in games played (120) and 51st in assist average (4.19)
 • Ranks 2nd all-time at NSU in assists with 506 behind Billy Walker (1980-85)
 • Stands 3rd in games played (121) at NSU and 10th in career steals (137)

D'Shon Taylor
 • Averaging 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and shooting 48.6 % overall and 45.5 % from 3-point range in MEAC games
 • 6.3 rebounds last three games
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in 3-point field goal % (40.9) and 14th in field goal % (44.2) and scoring (12.4)

Malik Thomas
 • DNP vs. N.C. A&T (injury)
 • 2.6 blocks last five games played
 • Ranks 11th in the MEAC in blocks (1.0), 19th in rebounding (4.9) and 27th in scoring (9.8)

Jordan Butler
 • 4.3 rebounds last nine games
 • Ranks 9th in the MEAC in blocks (1.1) and 225th in the nation (1.14)

LaTre'e Russell
 • 3.8 points, 2.4 rebounds last 5 games played
 • Career-high three assists at South Carolina State

Zaynah Robinson
 • 6.5 points last two games
 • 13 assists last seven games

Great Shooting Nights
NSU shot a Division I record 65.9 percent at South Carolina State on Saturday on 29-of-44 shooting. It broke the previous D-I best of 65.7 percent (23-of-35) set against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 27, 2011. It also marked the second straight contest and the third time this season the Spartans hit better than 60 percent in a game. NSU hit 60.9 percent overall against North Carolina A&T last Monday and is a combined 57-of-90 (63.3 percent) over the last two games.

The Spartans also connected on 8-of-13 from 3-point range (61.5 percent) against N.C. A&T, tied for the fourth-best percentage in D-I history. After hitting a season-low one 3-pointer against N.C. Central on Jan. 17, NSU has shot 15-of-26 (57.7 percent) from 3-point range over the last two games.

Strong Defense
Over the last six games, NSU has held opponents to just 36.4 percent shooting, including 27.3 percent from 3-point range. The Spartans, on the other hand, have hit 53.8 percent overall and 37.9 percent from 3-point range during that time.

MEAC Standings
The Spartans stand alone in second place in the MEAC standings at 6-1, while North Carolina Central sits in first at 7-0. Delaware State (4-1) is the only other conference school with less than two losses. UMES (4-2) and Howard (3-2) round out the top 5 in the standings.

Winning Big in the MEAC
The Spartans have averaged 76.1 points in MEAC games so far this year while shooting 55.7 percent overall and 43.0 percent from 3-point range. NSU has outrebounded foes by an average of 7.9 boards per contest while also holding them to 35.9 percent shooting and 24.6 percent from beyond the arc. All six of NSU's MEAC wins have been by double digits, the first time since 2008-09 the Spartans had at least six conference wins by 10 or more points.

Best in the Conference
Since the start of the 2011-12 season, NSU is 46-9 in regular season conference play, second in the MEAC over that period of time behind North Carolina Central (47-8). Counting MEAC tournament games, the Spartans are 51-11, while the Eagles are 51-10 during that time.

MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank No. 1 in the MEAC in rebounding margin (+5.1), defensive rebound percentage (70.5) and blocks (5.0). They also stand second in scoring offense (69.1), scoring margin (+4.4), field goal percentage (46.8), 3-point field goal percentage (36.1), opponent rebounding (31.5), assist-turnover ratio (0.9) and defensive rebounds (25.8), as well as third in assists (13.2). NSU is also one of three teams in the MEAC with four players in the top 30 in scoring.

Block Party
Over the last 10 contests, the Spartans are averaging 6.9 blocks per game and have outblocked the opposition by a collective 69-29 margin.

Winning the Rebounding Battle
The Spartans have had the rebounding edge or been even on the glass in 18 of the 22 games this year, including 17 of the last 19 contests. Dating back to last season, it also includes 29 of the last 34 opponents. On the season, the Spartans have a +5.1 rebounding margin.

On Fire
The Spartans have shot at least 44 percent in 13 of the last 17 contests. NSU's current 46.8 percent clip from the field is the best since the Spartans connected on 48.1 percent of their shots in 1998-99. The team's current 36.1 percent 3-point shooting is also the best since 1992-93 (40.4).

So far this season, the Spartans are 12-2 when they outshoot their opponents from the floor and 12-0 this year when outshooting teams from 3-point range.

Get to 20
NSU has had a 20-point scorer in 17 contests this year and 22 overall 20-point performances.

Don't Turn it Over
In eight of the last nine games, NSU has had the same amount or more turnovers than the opposition.

Balanced Scoring?
NSU has four players averaging better than nine points per game, including leading scorer Jeff Short (20.1) as well as RaShid Gaston (14.4), D'Shon Taylor (12.5) and Malik Thomas (9.8). After those four, though, the next highest scorer is Malik Gray and LaTre'e Russell at 2.8 points. Six players have tallied between 2.1 and 2.8 points per contest. A year after losing nearly 80 percent of its scoring from its senior class, NSU is now getting 78.9 percent of its scoring (1200-of-1520 points) from just four players.

Better After the Break
NSU has scored more points in the second half than the first half in 15 of the last 19 games.

Specialty Stats
NSU has outscored the other team by an average of 6.9 more points in the paint (30.6-23.7). On the year, NSU has outscored or been even against 18 of its 22 opponents in points in the paint, including 11 straight from Nov. 22-Dec. 22.

Ahead at the Half
The Spartans are 63-8 since the start of the 2011-12 season when leading or tied at the half. They also have four wins this year when trailing at the half after winning just one game last year.