Short hits 5 3s, Norfolk State beats Hampton 83-63

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) Jeff Short hit 5 of 7 from 3-point range and finished with 18 points, and D'Shon Taylor scored 15 to help Norfolk State beat Hampton 83-63 Thursday night and secure the No. 2 seed in next week's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.

Zaynah Robinson added 10 points and Jeff Butler had nine points, eight rebounds, two steals and three blocks for Norfolk State.

A layup by Reginald Johnson Jr. capped an 11-3 run to open the second half and pull Hampton (18-10, 14-2) within one with 15:51 to play, but the Spartans (15-15, 12-4) responded by scoring 13 of the next 17 points to make it 56-46 about 4 1/2 minutes later.

The Pirates trailed by at least seven the rest of the way.

Norfolk State made 26 of 51 field goals, including 12 of 24 from 3-point range, and tied a season high with nine blocked shots.

Hampton shot just 31.1 percent (19 of 61) from the field.

Dionte Adams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates.