Moore banked in a one-footed 3-pointer from deep with 0.7 seconds remaining on the clock to lift the Spartans (16-8, 6-1 MEAC) to their fourth consecutive win.
GAME. OVER.#GoldStandard pic.twitter.com/6Q5xky9nl3
– Norfolk State Men’s Basketball (@NSU_BBALL) February 4, 2025
“Another hard fought MEAC conference game,” Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones said. “It just showed the resilience that we have. I think championship teams find a way to win, so we found a way to win and hopefully that will bode well for us in the future.”
Darden scored two of the Spartans’ first four baskets, as Mading contributed a pair of scores as well in the opening stretch. North Carolina Central (10-13, 3-3) jumped out to a 13-8 lead, but 3-pointers from Christian Ings and Jalen Myers pushed the Spartans back in front quickly.
Myers muscled his way to the rim for two more points, but a triple from Eagles guard Po’Boigh King tied the game 16-16. Mading reached double figures with five minutes remaining in the first half, knocking down a mid-range jump shot.
Coming off a 20-point outing against South Carolina State on Saturday, Terrance Jones got the crowd back into it with a 3-pointer from the wing to put Norfolk State up 34-29. The Eagles went on a 6-2 run to close out the half, though, sending the teams to the locker room all square at 37-37.
Mading got the Spartans going in the second half with a dunk in transition, before Myers tied the game on a layup with a foul. Moore knocked down a 3-pointer to give Norfolk State a 45-44 advantage, but Keishon Porter flipped the scoreboard within moments on a strong finish at the rim.
Moore scored through contact for an and-one a few minutes later, scoring his 2,000th career point in the process. He kept his strong second half going with an alley-oop shortly after from a well-placed pass by Sin’Cere McMahon.
3-pointers from NCCU guards Isaac Parson and King within a short span gave North Carolina Central a 66-60 advantage, increasing the lead on another jumper before the under eight-minute media timeout.
North Carolina Central connected for an alley oop of its own, bringing the gap to double digits for the first time of the evening. Darden got to the basket for back to back scores after a timeout – the first coming with a foul – to give the Spartans life.
Ings knocked down a short jumper to keep the Spartans afloat, before Moore earned a successful trip to the free throw line shortly after. Jones pulled the Spartans within a possession on a put-back layup, forcing an Eagle timeout.
After Ings brought the Spartans within one by splitting a pair of attempts at the charity stripe, North Carolina Central guard Timmy Adedire drained a huge 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 78-74 lead with 1:36 to play. The Spartans responded with several offensive rebounds at the other end, culminating in another Jones putback.
Norfolk State got the stop it needed and capitalized immediately. Moore stepped through the defense and scored through contact, tying the game 78-78 with 32 seconds to play.
The Spartans produced one of its best defensive possessions of the night, forcing a shot clock violation. With 2.2 seconds on the clock, Jones had one chance to draw up a miraculous play – and that he did.
Darden inbounded the ball to Mading near half court, who immediately dished to a sprinting Moore. The Murray State transfer heaved one from the edge of the Spartan logo, using the glass as the buzzer sounded.
“They executed it to perfection,” Jones said. “It’s not something that we practiced, it was a straight draw-up play. They executed it to perfection.”
Pandemonium ensued in Echols Hall. The crowd reached a volume so loud, nobody in the gym could hear the foul called on North Carolina Central during the shot.
After the Spartans regrouped from the celebratory dogpile on the sideline, 0.7 seconds had been added to the clock. Moore missed the ensuing free throw, but the Eagles couldn’t get a shot up as Norfolk State secured one of the most memorable wins in the venue’s history.
- Brian Moore Jr. led the Spartans with 19 points, scoring 17 in the second half
- Kuluel Mading added 15 points and six rebounds, while Jaylani Darden tallied 13 points and six boards
- Terrance Jones (11) and Jalen Myers (10) scored in double-figures as well
- The teams went to halftime tied 37-37
- Monday’s game featured 16 ties and 10 lead changes
- Norfolk State shot 28-of-50 from the floor (56.0 percent)
- North Carolina Central led 70-60 with 7:25 to play, before Norfolk State ended the game on a 21-8 run
News & Notes
- Norfolk State improved to 16-8 with the win, 6-1 in MEAC play
- North Carolina Central dropped to 10-13, 3-3 in the MEAC
- Norfolk State now leads the all-time series with North Carolina Central 36-19
- Brian Moore Jr. reached 2,000 career points at the college level with an and-one layup in the second half. He scored 1,064 of his points at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (JUCO), 493 at Murray State, and now has 454 points at NSU
- Moore’s sealing 3-pointer marked Norfolk State’s first last-second game winning field goal since Steven Whitley‘s buzzer beater against Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 27, 2018
- Norfolk State overcame a double-digit deficit on the path to victory for the first time this season, and the first time since defeating Purdue Fort Wayne in the 2024 CIT Championship game
- NSU improved to 38-1 in head coach Robert Jones‘ tenure when five Spartans score in double figures
UP NEXT
Norfolk State gets the opportunity to rest, playing its next game on Saturday, Feb. 15. The Spartans face Maryland Eastern Shore on the road, with tipoff slated for 4 p.m.
Source: Norfolk State Athletics/nsuspartans.com