Norfolk St tops Eastern Shore 78-74 in MEAC opener

Mar 10, 2014, 11:37 pm

NORFOLK, Va. -- Pendarvis Williams scored 22 points and fourth-seeded Norfolk State pulled out a 78-74 win over 13th-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first-round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament on Monday after losing a 23-point second-half lead.

The Spartans (18-13), who will play fifth-seeded Savannah State on Thursday in the quarterfinals, were ahead 65-49 with 8:50 remaining when the Hawks (6-24) put together a 10-0 run to get back in the game. They eventually tied the game twice, the last when Troy Snyder made two free throws, came with 1:49 to play.

After RaShid Gaston hit 1 of 2 free throws to put Norfolk State ahead 75-74, UMES had two turnovers. Then Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and cashed in two free throws with 6 seconds left. Marese Phelps iced it with a free throw.

Gaston and Malcolm Hawkins had 17 points each for the Spartans. Hakeem Baxter had 21 for the Hawks.