NORFOLK — Norfolk State got to take one last trip up the ladder to cut the nets Wednesday night. The Spartans ended their season with a 75-67 win over Purdue Fort Wayne at Echols Hall to take home the CollegeInsider Tournament title.
“Oh man, what a season,” Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said. “It was great to finish with a W. Not a lot of teams in the country are gonna be able to say that. Only four honestly, out of 363, and we happen to be one of the four that’s gonna be able to say that we finished the season with a W. So it’s great for the program, great for the seniors, it’s great for the guys that have eligibility left. It’s just a great situation.”
Jones and his squad used a strong second-half performance, just like they did in the semifinals of the CIT last week.
The Spartans were down by as many as 18 points in the first half, and Purdue Fort Wayne was shooting 42.2% from the field and 40.9% from 3-point range. Norfolk State closed the first half on a 10-3 run to cut into the lead but went into the break down 41-31.
“We got down 18 at one point and that was for sure not the way we wanted it to go,” Jones said. “But we switched defenses in the last media (timeout), and that helped a lot. That helped cut the lead to 10.”
Norfolk State came out of the break on fire and cut Purdue Fort Wayne’s lead to two points with an 11-3 run. Most of that run, seven points to be exact, came via Christian Ings.
Ings, a graduate student, finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and was named the game’s MVP.
“I’m so grateful to be the MVP of anything, you know, just having your work recognized,” Ings said. “Tonight I just felt like I was going with the flow of the offense, Coach was calling great plays for me and I just tried to execute his vision. It just happened to be my night tonight, and I’m just glad I can do that for my seniors.”
A 3-pointer from Allen Betrand at the 11:40 mark gave Norfolk State its first lead of the night, and the Spartans stayed in control for the rest of the game. Betrand finished right behind Ings with 16 points. After a long ride that included stops at four schools, Betrand ended his college career going out on top.
“I have mixed emotions because I don’t want it to end,” Betrand said. “But at the same time, I’m ready for the next chapter. So I’m just glad that Coach Jones brought me here. We were able to win and achieve a lot this year.”
The Spartans’ defense stepped up in the second half and played a large role in the victory. Norfolk State held Purdue Fort Wayne to just eight field goals in the second half, when the Mastodons shot a measly 26.7% from the field and 23.1% from beyond the arc. Purdue Fort Wayne finished 34.9% from the field and 34.3% from 3-point range.
“We always say we’re a defensive team that can score,” Jones said. “Clearly we scored 75 tonight, but we held them to 26% shooting. That is a really, really good offensive team. They average 81 points, they shoot 47% from the field, they got all these great offensive numbers, and we were able to lock them down in the second half. It was gonna be a battle of wills, their offense versus our defense, and we imposed our will and were able to get a win.”
Norfolk State (24-11) finished with at least 24 wins for just the third time in the program’s Division I history. It is also the first postseason tournament championship win, not including the MEAC Tournament, in the Spartans’ Division I history.
Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com
