ware12
MEAC Media Relations
63
Morgan St. MSUM 14-8
71
Winner Norfolk St. NSUM 16-7
Morgan St. MSUM
14-8
63
Final
71
Norfolk St. NSUM
16-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Morgan St. MSUM 30 33 63
Norfolk St. NSUM 37 34 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | MEACsports.com

Norfolk State Men Win 2021 Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament

Morgan's De'Torrion Ware and Lagio Grantsaan were named to the All-Tournament Team.

NORFOLK, Va., March 13, 2021 – Norfolk State defeated Morgan State 71-63 on Saturday at the Air Force Reserve Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament, claiming the Spartans' second MEAC tournament title overall and their first since 2012. 
 
With the win, the Spartans earned the conference's automatic berth to next week's NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. The Spartans will learn their opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBS. 
 
"We knew Morgan wouldn't go away," Spartans head coach Robert Jones, the tournament's Outstanding Coach, said. "Coach (Kevin) Broadus is a good friend of mine's and we said all year that we were the two best teams in this league, and we showed it tonight. We both had good non-conference showings and we both had good conference showings. 
 
"We showed up at the championship game and it was a dogfight the whole time. We watched their first two games and they were down by nine at the half, so we just said this wasn't going to be the third game in a row." 
 
Norfolk State (17-7) tied Coppin State for the MEAC's Northern Division crown and then defeated three-time tournament champion North Carolina Central in the quarterfinals, 87-58, to earn its berth in the title game. The Spartans went straight from the quarterfinals to the championship game after North Carolina A&T State, the No. 1 seed from the Southern Division, bowed out of the field following a positive COVID-19 test within its program. 
 
In the first half, Morgan State got the action started by hitting a 3-pointer in the first nine seconds of the game. The Bears would go on to get their largest lead of the game when De'Torrion Ware scored on a layup at the 14:14 mark, giving MSU an 11-7 lead. 
 
After several lead changes, the Spartans' Nyzaiah Chambers scored on a slam dunk with 10:44 left before intermission, giving his team a one-point lead at 16-15. The Spartans never trailed thereafter and took a 37-30 lead into the locker room at the half. 
 
Norfolk State opened the second half by outgunning the Bears 19-to-10 to get its biggest lead of the contest at 56-40 with 13:27 to play. The Bears managed to cut the Spartans' lead down to nine at the 3:02 mark on a pair of free throws by Sherwyn Devonish, but NSU went back up by double-digits at 67-57 with 2:10 left in the ballgame. 
 
In the closing minute of the contest, Morgan State got within six, but time expired before they could make another of their vaunted comebacks. 
 
Morgan State's Coach Broadus complimented the Spartans on their victory and praised the Bears for their season as well. 
 
"They (Norfolk State) were the better team today," Broadus said. "They played a helluva game and they were just the better team today.  We had our chances to make a run and we just couldn't get over the hump. We had a good year and we defeated some good opponents. We started the season with 21 guys and we ended with our best 10.  I'm proud of those guys."  
 
For the game, three players scored in double-figures for Norfolk State, including tournament Outstanding Performer Joe Bryant, who led all scorers with 17 points along with four rebounds after netting 30 points in his team's 87-58 quarterfinals victory over North Carolina Central. 
 
Kashaun Hicks added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Spartans while Devante Carter had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. 
 
The last time Norfolk State played in the NCAA tourney, the Spartans competed as a No. 15 seed and registered an 86-84 upset victory over No. 2 seed Missouri. Jones was an assistant coach on that history-making team and he said memories of the win still linger. 
 
"We talk about it (the 2012 win over Missouri) all the time," Jones said. "We talk about trying to make our own history." 
 
Morgan State, which ended its season at 14-7, was led by De'Torrion Ware's 16 points and five rebounds along with Lagio Grantsaan's 13 points and eight boards. In three games during the tournament, Ware scored a total of 80 points, just nine points shy of the all-time MEAC tournament record. 
 
THE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM 
Joe Bryant Jr., Norfolk State (Most Outstanding Performer) 
Devante Carter, Norfolk State 
De'Torrion Ware, Morgan State 
Lagio Grantsaan, Morgan State 
Yuat Alok, Coppin State 


 
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