Box Score
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) scored a game-high 25 points and fellow guard Aleek Pauline (Jamaica, N.Y.) added a season-high 14 to help Norfolk State snap its school-record 11-game losing streak with a 78-65 win over Florida A&M on Monday night at the Alfred Lawson Center.
Deloach scored 14 points in the second half and Pauline had 11 of his 14 after halftime as the Spartans (2-12, 1-2 MEAC) outscored the Rattlers (3-12, 1-2) 49-36. The two guards combined to shoot 25 free throws on the night, making 17, to give NSU its first win since a 72-71 decision over Maine on Nov. 16.
The win also snapped the Spartans' 11-game road losing streak but was their fifth win in a row over FAMU. NSU's last victory away from Echols Hall was a 68-62 triumph at Hampton on Jan. 31, 2009.
Unlike Saturday, when they scored just six points in the first 13 minutes and trailed by 23 in the first half at Bethune-Cookman, the Spartans got off to a strong start on Monday. Deloach and forward Tim Zephyr (Bronx, N.Y.) both scored two early buckets before FAMU found the net to get NSU off to an early eight-point lead.
But FAMU's Christopher Walker scored 14 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting, and the Rattlers scored nine second-chance points off eight first-half offensive rebounds to forge a 29-29 tie going into the intermission.
The Spartans clamped down on defense in the second half and forced FAMU to miss its first eight field-goal attempts of the stanza. Deloach, meanwhile, heated up. He hit two 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the half, the second of which capped a 10-1 spurt to start the period and gave the Spartans a 39-30 lead.
Forward Marcos Tamares (Queens, N.Y.) buried a 3-pointer of his own three minutes later as NSU stretched its advantage to 12, 46-34. The lead would grow to as much as 15, 52-37, after a jumper by Kyle O'Quinn (Jamaica, N.Y.) with 8:30 remaining in the game.
FAMU cut its deficit to seven, 61-54, on a trey David Buchannon with 4:15 left to play. But Deloach answered with a jumper at the other end. FAMU's Isaac Brown again cut the lead to seven, 63-56, but Pauline had the answer this time to again extend the lead to nine.
The Spartans put the game away by making 9-of-12 from the foul line in the final two and a half minutes. NSU hit 22-of-31 from the charity stripe (71 percent) for the game, including 14-of-20 (70 percent) in the second half.
The Spartans connected on 53.1 percent (26-of-49) of their field goals on Monday night, equaling their season high at Iona on Nov. 22. Meanwhile, the NSU defense had its best showing of the season by holding the Rattlers to 65 points and 31.7 percent shooting (20-of-63), both season lows for a Spartan opponent.
O'Quinn added eight points, a career-high 13 rebounds, and three blocks for NSU. It was his second straight game with three blocks. After being outrebounded 23-15 in the first half, the Spartans held a 27-12 advantage in the second half for an overall 42-35 edge. Deloach, who also had four steals, followed O'Quinn with six rebounds.
Pauline matched his season high with seven assists. Rob Hampton (Queens, N.Y.) contributed nine points and Tamares had seven.
Larry Jackson led FAMU with 16 points. Walker had 15, but just one after halftime. Brandon Bryant added 13 and Yannick Crowder 10.
After playing six straight contests and 12 of their first 14 away from home, the Spartans return to Echols Hall to host Hampton on Saturday for Pack the House Night. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
