BALTIMORE, Md. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team overcame a sluggish first half and outscored Coppin State by 22 in the second period to defeat the Eagles by a score of 74-64 on Monday night at the Physical Education Complex.
 
The Spartans fell behind by as much as 16 in the first half as they shot just 24 percent from the field. But in the second, they could not be stopped. Norfolk State outscored the Eagles 52-30 while shooting 68 after the intermission.
 
The victory, their third in a row, kept NSU's win streak alive against Coppin State. The Spartans have now won nine in a row over CSU as well as nine straight in the series in Baltimore. It also pushed the surging Spartans, winners of four of their past five, to 4-2 in MEAC play.
 
The loss dropped CSU to the same 4-2 record as NSU continues its climb up the conference standings. After struggling with giveaways lately, the Spartans had just seven turnovers for the entire game.
 
Both teams went at least 10 minutes without a field goal during certain points of the game, with the Spartans going cold in the first half and the Eagles returning the favor in the second. CSU (5-16 overall) was also hurt by a 14-of-29 second-half effort from the free throw line.
 
Senior Jonathan Wade led all players with 23 points and nine rebounds, shooting 8-of-14 from the field. Junior Zaynah Robinson added 14 points, including several in the second half when the Spartans began their run.
 
Down by 12 at halftime, the Spartans (7-13) got their offense going in the second half. A couple of buckets from Robinson and a trey from Wade at the 13:20 mark got NSU to within seven at 43-36. It was also part of a larger 15-4 run that allowed the Spartans to get to within two. Wade, junior Kyle Williams and junior Jordan Butler each had buckets to slice the Eagle lead to just 46-44 with 9:55 left in the game.
 
The Eagles went slightly more than 10 minutes without a field goal, which allowed the Spartans to tie the score at 49-all with 7:37 left on sophomore Alex Long's 3-point play around a media timeout. CSU scored 11 straight points all on free throws until Keith Shivers' fastbreak layup at the 5:45 mark ended their drought from the floor.
 
NSU then scored eight straight and 13 of the next 14 points in the game for its first lead the entire evening. Williams had a pair of treys from the right side, and Wade added another from the same area during that time. That put the Spartans ahead by eight with just 2:45 left. They led by as much as 11 as time ticked down.
 
NSU shot 19-of-28 from the floor in the second half and 25-of-53 overall (47.2 percent).
 
Coppin State made 6-of-11 from long range in the first half and 48 percent overall but finished 19-of-43 (44.2 percent) for the game as well as 8-of-19 from deep.
 
The Eagles surged ahead quickly in the game thanks to a 14-0 run, breaking a 7-7 tie and putting them ahead by double digits nine minutes into the game. The run reached 20-5 as NSU went nearly 12 minutes without a field goal until Wade hit a layup through contact in transition with 3:37 left.
 
The Eagles led by as much as 16 before NSU closed the gap slightly at the end. Robinson's 3-pointer with time ticking down in the first half made it 34-22 in favor of Coppin State.
 
The Spartans missed 14 straight attempts from the field during their drought. They also made just 8-of-15 from the free throw line, failing to take advantage of a plus seven-shot discrepancy from the line compared to CSU.
 
Wade had 10 of the team's 22 points, while having five players with two fouls each in the first half did not prevent the Eagles from carrying a double-digit lead going into the locker room.
 
Tre' Thomas led the Eagles with 14 points on the night, with Dejuan Clayton (12 points, seven assists) and Chas Brown (11 points, seven boards) also chipping in.
 
Long added 11 points and five rebounds for the Spartans, while Butler totaled six points and seven boards. Williams continued his recent strong stretch with nine points off the bench.
 
NSU held a 37-32 edge on the glass and outscored the Eagles 28-16 in points in the paint.
 
Coppin State finished 18-of-37 from the free throw line, while NSU was 18-of-28.
 
NSU will return home to host a pair of teams next weekend, beginning with Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.