Winston-Salem, N.C., March 13 - It was Michael DeLoach who scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half that got his team back into the game, but it was Corey Lyons, who scored 10 of his 17 points after intermission, including the go-ahead basket and the last six points that helped Norfolk State come from behind to defeat South Carolina State, 74-71 in the semifinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s tournament.
The Spartans (13-17), the Number 3 seed, will take on Morgan State in the tournament finals on Saturday beginning 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
The Bulldogs (17-14), the Number 2 seed, took an early lead and used a late run at the end of the first half to push the advantage to seven, 36-29 at the half. Josh Jackson (9 points), Jimmy Williams (8) and Jason Flagler (8) combined for 25 of their team points. South Carolina State helped its cause by controlling the boards, 25-14.
“They were killing us on the boards in the first half,” said Norfolk State Coach Anthony Evans. “We had to make some adjustments at halftime. We changed our defense to create some turnovers so that we can get some transition baskets.”
The Spartans ran off a 32-24 run to take their first lead of the second half at 61-60 with 3:30 remaining. Most of the scoring came from DeLoach, who at one point scored 10 straight points, mostly in transition.
But Norfolk State’s chances appeared to dim when DeLoach picked up his fifth foul at the 2:24 mark. That is when Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys and Lyons picked up the slack. Dorsett-Jeffreys scored two key baskets on stickbacks and Lyons provided the biggest shot of his career when he nailed a long 3-pointer with the shot clock running down. It gave the Spartans a 72-69 lead with 10 ticks on the clock.
“Corey stepped up big time for us,” said Coach Evans. “Michael (DeLoach) did a great job for us but when he fouled out we talked about other people stepping up and Corey and Joseph did just that. It is a great win for us.”
The Bulldogs had a decent game shooting the ball (46 percent) and they held an edge on the boards (36-28), but the turnovers were the difference. SC State had 13 second half turnovers that the Spartans converted into 22 points.
“I thought that the last 10 minutes we became very passive,” said SC State head coach Tim Carter. “They went to a three quarter court press and we stopped attacking. They saw our passiveness and they were like sharks around blood.”
Josh Jackson led the Bulldogs with 18, Jimmy Williams with 16, Carrio Bennett with 14 and Jason Flagler with 10.
The Spartans lost their only game to Morgan State during the regular season. Coach Evans feels that it is going to be a challenge for Norfolk State, which is in the tournament final for the first time since joining the MEAC and becoming tournament eligible in 2000.
“They are a very good team,” said Evans, referring to Morgan State. “From point guard to the post, they are very talented. It is going to be a challenge but I think it is good matchup.”