Norfolk State University went on the road and got a win at Illinois State, but the game was marred by contentious moments and allegedly racially motivated comments.
Officials say comments made to NSU’s Jamarii Thomas by ISU fans were ‘racially motivated.” Those fans were ejected from the game while NSU head coach Robert Jones and ISU head coach Ryan Pedon were both given technicals after a verbal altercation.
“I’m not letting anybody call my players a racial slur,” Jones tweeted after the game. “Those are my kids and I will fight for them. We have come too far in society to be called the N word at college basketball game.”
Jamarii Thomas fueled Norfolk State (7-3) with a career-high 31 points on Saturday night at the Horton Field House, leading the Spartans to a 64-58 road victory over Illinois State (6-4).
In addition to his scoring output, Thomas registered six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block in a career-high 39 minutes of action. Allen Betrand tallied 12 points to round out Norfolk State’s double-figure scorers, while Kuluel Mading led the Spartans on the glass with seven rebounds.
Norfolk State University improved to 7-3 with the victory. NSU heads to the Empire State for a pair of matchups at Stony Brook (Dec. 13) and Hofstra (Dec. 16).