SPARTANS KEEP PIRATES AT BAY
Norfolk State pulls away late to top Hampton in local battle
NORFOLK — Holding a six-point lead over their rival late in the second half, Norfolk State senior Devante Carter still shouted, “Energy!” when he was the one providing a good chunk of it.
Carter scored a game-high 29 points, slicing through Hampton’s defense for easy layups, as the Spartans (3-1) pulled away late to beat Hampton 76-64 in the Battle of the Bay on Monday at Echols Hall.
“Overall it was a great team effort against a rival,” Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said. “I know we didn’t handle the first rival well but I think we learned from that game and handled the second rival well.”
Speaking of the Spartans’ 80-66 loss to Old Dominion last week, Jones was correct in the team learning, as NSU started strong with an 11-7 lead against Hampton — opposite of the 11-0 deficit they faced against ODU out of the gate.
After solving early foul trouble, Norfolk State kept pace with the Pirates (1-1), eventually pulling ahead 38-35 on Tyrese Jenkins’ 3-pointer before Edward Oliver-Hampton cut the Pirates’ deficit to 38-37 at the break.
Then the game slowed down. Hampton plays optimally at a fast pace, but NSU forced the Pirates into more half-court offense.
“We know they wanna play like this,” Jones said, quickly wiggling
his hand back and forth with an outstretched index finger. “We can’t live to play like that. We wanted them to run sets.”
And on defense, Carter constantly found holes he could dash through that made any comeback impossible.
“We got our butts kicked, plain and simple,” Hampton coach Buck Joyner said. “But that’s OK. It’s early in the year.”
Despite Hampton’s move to the Big South Conference, the Pirates and Spartans met in the ‘Battle of the Bay’ rivalry game for the 24th straight year and have met every season except two since the 1958-59 campaign.
With no fans allowed — only team guests to comply with the state’s 250-person gathering guideline — the rivalry was more reserved.
“It was weird, to be honest with you,” Jones said. “To have the Battle of the Bay with 200 people in the building was very strange. Usually the gym is overflowing, so really it was just a game against another opponent.”
Local report
Several local products notched their first points with their respective teams. The highly anticipated debuts of Old Dominion transfers Dajour Dickens and Marquis Godwin were tame for Hampton.
Dickens fouled out with three points and three rebounds and Godwin scored six points on 3-of-8 shooting.
“They haven’t played basketball in a year and a half from a competitive standpoint,” Joyner said. “I wasn’t pleased with the way they played. I’m pretty sure they weren’t either. But this is something they can bounce back from easily.”
Norfolk State freshman guard
Andre Bottoms, a former Oscar Smith standout, scored his first collegiate points on a layup with 7:28 left in the first half.
Kyonze Chavis, a former Norfolk Collegiate standout, chipped in eight points. The game’s top scorer, Carter, also is local, having spent his first two high school seasons at Woodside.
Up next
Norfolk State’s next two games against William & Mary (Dec. 9) and Regent University (Dec. 15) have been postponed because of COVID situations at the respective schools. The Spartans’ next game will be against UNC Wilmington on Dec. 18 at Echols Hall. Hampton’s Dec. 10 matchup with Regent has been canceled, and the Pirates will next play Virginia Military Institute on Dec. 13 in Lexington.