'I feel like this life-changing': Athletes reflect on the importance of HBCU Challenge as Morgan State and Norfolk State claim wins
Morgan State and Hampton came in evenly matched as the two winless teams in the HBCU Challenge, but Morgan State set apart in the second half en route to a 60-47 victory on Monday.
“Bouncing back after yesterday, we made some adjustments. Guys believed in the game plan, and they followed through on it from start to finish,” Morgan State head coach Kevin Broadus said. “It was a beautiful thing to watch out there, running that offense and doing the things we know we’re capable of doing. We defended them very well and we got back to being Morgan the way Morgan plays. We had 48 rebounds to their 30, that’s what our program is about.”
The Bears stuffed their way in the paint as guard Malik Miller finished off with 10 rebounds and Lagio Grantsaan added six of his own to the mix.
Both teams kept it close in the first half with Morgan State eventually pulling away to a 27-23 at halftime. Morgan State’s rebounding did start off strong with 25 boards to Hampton’s 19. However, the Bears were missing the usual production from Miller.
But once Morgan State entered the second half, the team turned on a new gear. Miller woke up from a sleepy first half performance of three points to lead the team with 13 points in the game. Grantsaan added 10 points to round out the offense.
The defining stretch, a 13-3 run over the course of 10 minutes, powered the Bears to their first win in six games.
Hampton had some big performances from their shooters, including Najee Garvin’s 17 points and Russell Dean’s 14 points. But Hampton was hit hard in their overall floor game as the shooters combined for 25.5 percent from the field. Morgan State had 10 more field goals than Hampton with 22.
Overall, both teams understood that their inclusion in the tournament was for a bigger cause than winning.
“I feel like this life-changing. The tournament right here can change lives. I feel like it’s a great experience for everyone to get involved and see HBCUs. I feel like it’s a small process, and I’m just glad we have somebody who believes in us and knows we belong because we know we belong,” Miller said.
Dean is excited for the future growth of HBCU programs as the people who came to the tournament only saw a “small sample” of the talent.
“There’s talent out there and I feel like with the opportunity that Chris Paul gave us, he let everybody see and get a small sample of it. There’s way more talent in HBCU that everybody hasn’t seen. The more we get HBCUs out there, the more talent everybody is going to see that we have.”
Norfolk State 70, Grambling 63
Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones told his players to treat their final game of the HBCU Challenge like a championship game, and the strategy paid off as Norfolk State closed out a perfect 2-0 in the tournament in Monday’s 70-63 victory over Grambling at the Footprint Center.
“We knew the competition was going to be tough. With us coming in with the best overall record, we knew guys were going to be gunning for us and they did exactly that. I respect my guys for answering the bell,” Jones said.
Norfolk State, now 8-1, came in with the best record of the four-team pool, but they didn’t want to fall into a trap in their final game.
The Spartans came out hot against Grambling (2-5), who were coming off a 74-59 win in Sunday’s late cap. NSU jumped to a 4-0 lead as Grambling struggled to get their offense going on three missed shots. However, Grambling bounced back quickly as Tra’Michael Moton’s six points on four free throws and a layup sparked an 8-0 run to take over the lead.
Things steadied out between the two teams tied three times and Norfolk State could only string together their highest lead of six points twice in the half. At halftime, Norfolk State led by a slim margin of 33-30 with forward Kris Bankston leading with 11 points.
Bankston was the standard for efficient shooting as the Spartans shot 49.1 percent in the game. Bankston carried his momentum into the second half, finishing with a season-high 21 points on seven field goals, while adding on nine rebounds. Tyrese Jenkins poured in 12 points and six rebounds.
Grambling struggled to shoot in the final five minutes despite getting all the chances to take the game from fouls and turnovers from Norfolk State. One sequence saw back-to-back offensive rebounds from Grambling, but neither of the boards converted into offense.
Although Grambling struggled to score in stretches, three of their players finished in double figures, with A.J. Taylor leading with a double-double (16 points and 14 rebounds). Danya Kingsby and Moton both registered 12 points in the game.
As both teams wrapped up their time in the tournament, the players shared their gratitude for the opportunity to raise awareness for HBCU programs in a region without them, especially when invited by a high-profile person like Chris Paul.
“It’s a blessing. It’s exposure that we’ve been looking for. I feel like we can compete with anybody in the country and bringing us here, they put our talents on display for the world to see,” Jenkins said.
Taylor added that being from North Carolina exposed him to HBCUs, but it’s a big opportunity to go on the West Coast and grow exposure.
“I like the opportunity that he [Chris Paul] gave us. He didn’t really have to do that, but he gave us the opportunity to really show what we’re about. I feel like the HBCU community the next two years is really going to rise,” Taylor said.
Sunday
Norfolk State 70, Hampton 61
Norfolk State guard Joe Bryant Jr. Tallied 20 points as Norfolk State advanced to 7-1 on the season.
Forward Kris Bankston added 18 points for Norfolk State. Christian Ings, Norfolk State’s second leading scorer heading into the matchup at 12 points per game, was limited to six points and missed all 10 shot attempts from the field.
Hampton made seven of their 30 attempts from the 3-point line, while Norfolk State knocked down one on six tries.
Guard Marquis Godwin had 14 points for Hampton (2-5), in the fifth-straight loss for the team. Russell Dean added 14 points. DeAngelo Epps had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Grambling 74, Morgan State 59
Grambling was led by three players scoring in double figures in the late cap, including 24 points from Cam Christon. Danya Kingsby tacked on 20 points, while A.J. Taylor brought in 16 points.
The three top scorers accounted for all eight of Grambling’s 3-pointers in the game as Christon went 3-for-3 from downtown. Kingsby also knocked down three, while Taylor added two.
Grambling stole the ball 13 times while benefiting from 20 turnovers from Morgan State.
Lagio Grantsaan chipped in 14 points off the bench to become Morgan State’s leading scorer. Malik Miller added 10 points and 12 rebounds as Morgan State (2-5) slid into their fifth-straight loss on the season.
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com or 602-647-4122. Follow her on Twitter @jennarortiz.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Norfolk State closes out HBCU Challenge as lone undefeated team in 70-63 win over Grambling
