James Madison may have a brand new arena, but the record will show that the first win in the building belonged to Norfolk State.
NSU used a hot-shooting second half to beat JMU 83-73 to open the 2020-2021 season.
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Former Arkansas State forward J.J. Matthews led the way for NSU, finishing with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Devante Carter played a solid all-around game with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win.
The Spartans went into halftime down 38-35, but got active in the second half. They shot 55.5 percent from the field in the final 40 minutes, hitting five-of-eight 3 point attempts and 17-of-21 from the free throw line.
Ironically, head coach Robert Jones said he thought that his offense was a concern coming into the game.
“To come out and get 83 points the first time, maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about when I say the offense is struggling.”