Thomas, Norfolk St. rally to beat Savannah St. 82-76

Jan 20, 2019, 02:00 am

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Nic Thomas scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half and Norfolk State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Savannah State 82-76 on Saturday night.

Mastadi Pitt had 15 points, Steven Whitley scored 11 and Armani Branch added 10 for Norfolk State (10-10, 5-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Alex Long had 11 boards and Jordan Butler grabbed 10 for the Spartans, who outrebounded Savannah State 46-30.

The Tigers (4-14, 1-3) closed the first half on a 15-6 run to lead 37-28 at the break and Jaquan Dotson's layup with 13:14 to play gave them their biggest lead at 51-41. But Whitley sandwiched a dunk and a layup around 3-pointers by Branch and Pitt to tie it less than 90 seconds later. Derrik Jamerson Jr. hit a 3-pointer before Butler made a jumper to give Norfolk State a 71-69 lead, its first since midway through the first half, and spark a 12-3 spurt that made it 78-72 with 48 seconds to go.

Zach Sellers had 20 points, while Collins Joseph and Romani Hansen scored 19 apiece for Savannah State.

The Spartans, who made just eight first-half field goals, shot 59 percent (20 of 34) after halftime.