NORFOLK — Norfolk State vs. Hampton in the Battle of the Bay is one of the Spartans’ most anticipated basketball games.

Norfolk State won the first meeting this season — 57-43 on Dec. 3 at the Hampton University Convocation Center.

 

Tonight’s rematch at Echols Arena not only is a MEAC rivalry but also is for bragging rights that extend all the way to Newark, N.J.

That’s where Norfolk State reserve center Jakeel Gary and Hampton guard Jeff Granger first met. Gary and Granger have known each other and played ball together since seventh grade. They’ve played on successful AAU teams and also helped St. Benedict’s Prep to a New Jersey private school state title.

They’ re so close that Gary refers to Granger’s mother, Debra Cole-Granger, as his second mom because of how she helped him in high school.

But their paths took different directions when Granger left St. Benedict’s to attend a prep school in North Carolina before coming to Hampton in 2002. Gary left St. Benedict’s to go to Linden High School (N.J.), then spent two seasons at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.

“We didn’t talk all the time, but we did talk every now and then,” Granger said. “The last thing I had heard about him was he was going to a junior college somewhere.”

Gary, also known as Jack, helped Coffeyville to a 31-7 record and a fifth-place finish in the national junior college tournament.

The Hampton University men’s basketball team coached by Pinecrest graduate Bobby Collins won its fifth straight game 75-63 at Howard Monday night.

The Pirates are tied for second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with an 8-3 record. They improved to 10-8 overall after a 1-7 start.

Last year’s team also rallied in the second half of the season, missing out on an NCAA bid when Delaware State scored a last second basket in the MEAC tournament championship game.

The native of Southern Pines has held a basketball clinic in the area each of the last two summers. He was the conference player of the year and an all-state selection for the Patriots in 1984.

Collins will be on the sidelines close to home when the Pirates travel to North Carolina A&T for a Feb. 27 contest.

Danielle Peters and Kelly Jo Fields are back at making things happen as junior members of the UNC-Pembroke softball team.

The former Union Pines athletes played key roles in the Brave’s season opening 9-0, 13-6 sweep of St. Andrews on Saturday.

Peters, the team’s center fielder and lead-off hitter, started a three-run first in the opener with a single. She went on to go three for six in the two games with five runs scored and three stolen bases.

The Vass resident was second in the nation last year in stolen bases with 56 in 57 attempts. She needs only 22 more to break the all-time Peach Belt record. She was an all-conference and all-region selection.

Fields, from Carthage, played at second and short in the first two games, handling 11 chances flawlessly. She also went one for three at the plate, with a run-scoring double.

Former Viking teammate Lisa Jackson is also expected to don a glove for the Methodist College softball team at the end of the basketball season. She joined the Monarch softball team late last year in time to start 25 games and bat .300 as the team’s catcher.

HAMPTON, VA -- Mental errors and some defensive lapses proved costly to the South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-12, 3-5 MEAC), Saturday night as they took a 69-57 loss to the Hampton Pirates (7-9, 5-3 MEAC). The Bulldogs scored just 26 second half points while allowing the Pirates to run off 39 points in the period to end the night with the loss.

The loss overshadowed three solid individual performances by the Bulldogs as junior forward Brian Mason came off the bench to score 15 points and pulled in six rebounds in the contest while senior forward Thurman Zimmerman added 11 points, five assists, and six rebounds as well. Sophomore guard Derrick Davis continued his strong play of late adding 10 points and five assists in the contests. However, the Bulldogs did not get much help from the rest of the team as that trio outscored the rest of the SCSU team 36-21.

The Pirates were paced by a strong night by senior guard Jeff Granger wo totaled 20 points in the contest, including hitting four first half three-pointers. Jaz Cowan and Rashad West added 13 points each for the Pirates as well. Pre-Season MEAC Player of the Year Bruce Brown ended the night with eight points and no rebounds in the contest.

The Bulldogs battled the Pirates in the first half as a 21-17 SCSU lead at the 11:28 mark was the Bulldogs’ largest lead of the game. The Pirates would then heat up outscoring the Bulldogs 13-4 over the next eight minutes to take a 30-25 at the 4:32 mark in the half. The Bulldogs would clamp down on the Pirates holding them scoreless for the final four minutes of the contest and taking a 31-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half was a tough one for the Bulldogs as their one-point lead was erased early in the contest as the Pirates scored six unanswered points when Zimmerman took in a lay-up that cut the SCSU deficit to three points, 36-33 at the 15:42 mark The three-point cushion would be as good as the team could muster as the Bulldogs managed just one field goal over the next 10 minutes, while allowing the Pirates build a 52-41 lead in the contest. A three-pointer by Zimmerman at the 9:56 mark end the SCSU drought. Highlighting the drought was an intentional techinical foul by SCSU junior guard Benjamin Washington, Jr.

The game proved to be out of reach for the Bulldogs with the Pirates going ahead by as much as 15 points. The Bulldogs fought to get back into the game as a Davis three-pointer cut the Hampton lead to 11 points, 62-51 at the 2:33 mark, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get in the contest.