Missy Elliott offers encouragement and advice at Norfolk State University graduation

Missy Elliot gave the keynote speech at Norfolk State University's graduation ceremony Saturday. Elliot also offered offers encouragement and advice to the graduates.

Norfolk State wins MEAC Tournament and earns automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament

Conference player of the year, Joe Bryant Jr. scored 23 points and top-seeded Norfolk State used 9-4 run to finish off Coppin State 72-57 on Saturday to win the Mid-East Athletic Conference tournament championship and an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Bryant was 5 of 9 from beyond the 3 point arc and Norfolk State (23-6) was 11 of 23 from long range.

Head coach Robert Jones has now lead the Spartans to two consecutive NCAA Tournaments and an NCAA Tournament First Four win over Appalachian State in 2021.

The conference champions went 12-2 to claim the top tournament seed, and have won at least a share of the regular season title in three of the last four seasons.

Norfolk State wins MEAC Tournament, headed to the NCAA tournament

For years, the Norfolk State men’s basketball team has fought tooth and nail to get back to the Big Dance only to fall short every time.

On Saturday afternoon, that all came to an end.

Tournament MVP Joe Bryant scored 17 points in leading North No. 2 seed NSU to a 71-63 win over North No. 3 seed Morgan State in the MEAC Tournament final. The Spartans won their second-ever MEAC title, taking the lead from the Bears midway through the first half on Saturday and never giving it up.

NSU held Morgan State to just 39 percent shooting, including 3-of-17 from the 3-point line. Along with Bryant, senior Kashaun Hicks added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds, and senior Devante Carter tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Carter was named to the all-tournament team along with Bryant.

The Spartans also won the MEAC title in 2012 when they went on to defeat No. 2 seed Missouri in their first NCAA Tournament appearance. After the MEAC Tournament moved to Norfolk Scope in 2013, NSU had advanced to the finals twice in the previous seven years it was fully held (last year’s championship was cancelled due to COVID-19), in addition to three other semifinal appearances.

NSU ended that championship drought while improving to 16-7 on the year. The Spartans led by double digits most of the second half on Saturday, and the Bears (14-8) got no closer than six late in the game.

The Spartans will find out their seeding and opponent in the NCAA Tournament, held this year in Indianapolis, on Sunday with the NCAA Selection Show beginning at 6 p.m. live on CBS.

“We knew Morgan State wouldn’t go away,” said head coach Robert Jones, who was named the MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Coach. “Coach Broadus is a good friend of mine, and we said all year that we were the two best teams in this league. We showed it tonight.

“It was a dogfight the whole time. We watched their first two games, and they were down by nine at the half, so we just said this wasn’t going to be the third game in a row.”

Indeed, NSU led by seven at the half. Bryant caught fire in the second period, scoring 10 points before the first media timeout as NSU stretched its lead to 13. The junior had a 3-pointer and a 3-point play for the Spartans as their lead went back to double digits. A 17-8 run was ultimately capped by buckets from senior Kyonze Chavis and sophomore Nyzaiah Chambers for a 16-point lead, 56-40, with 13 and a half minutes to go.

NSU’s largest lead of the game stood up. The Bears tried to make a run, getting as close as 11 before Bryant’s corner 3-pointer put an end to that. Morgan State was able to get the deficit to single digits late in the last few minutes, but Hicks had a pair of breakaway dunks on a full-court press to keep MSU from getting any closer than six.

The Bears were led by all-tournament honorees De’Torrion Ware (16 points, five rebounds) and Lagio Grantsaan (13 points, eight rebounds). They finished with a 42-34 edge on the glass.

It was a back and forth game in the early going before a dunk from Chambers on a nice feed from senior Mustafa Lawrence at 10:44 to put NSU ahead for the rest of the half. Carter hit a 3-point shot, and Lawrence also sank one for a six-point lead, 24-18, with less than eight minutes to go in the half.

After a 3-point play from Ware, NSU turned around and scored eight straight for a double-digit lead. Hicks had a pair of baskets during a quick 8-0 run, and Lawrence finished it with three free throws to make it 34-24.

Thanks to a late 3-pointer from Chavis, the Spartans went into the half nursing a 37-30 advantage.

NSU shot 42 percent for the afternoon, 47 percent in the second half, hitting seven 3-pointers along the way. The Spartans forced 18 turnovers and held a 24-10 edge in points off turnovers.

Lawrence added eight points while hitting all five of his free throw attempts. Chavis tallied seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Dominion Energy Commits $35 Million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) is launching a $35 million initiative in support of African American and underrepresented minority students. This six-year program will support historically black colleges and universities in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. Additionally, as part of the initiative, a $10 million scholarship fund will be created to support African American and underrepresented minority students across the company’s service territory.

Said Thomas F. Farrell, II, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer: 

“We all know there are no actions or words that will immediately heal the hurt caused by 400 years of institutional racism. But since early June, we have seen signs of change and growth. Our country is moving forward. We are moving forward, too. This initiative is a recognition of the important role played by these institutions in African American advancement and the importance of education as an equalizer in society. These institutions have been foundational in the struggle to improve the lives of African Americans and in the fight for social justice. We are pleased and humbled to build on our company’s nearly 40-year history of supporting historically black colleges and universities.”

Additional details about the institutions to be supported and the new Dominion Energy Educational Equity scholarship fund will be provided in the coming days. 

The initiative builds on nearly four decades of support for higher education equity, including volunteer efforts and financial contributions provided to historically black colleges and universities in our service territory.

This new program is in addition to a recent $5 million commitment made by Dominion Energy and the company’s charitable foundation to support social justice, community reconciliation and rebuilding.

About Dominion Energy

More than 7 million customers in 20 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to sustainable, reliable, affordable and safe energy and is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy with more than $100 billion of assets providing electric generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas storage, transmission, distribution and import/export services. The company is committed to achieving net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions from its power generation and gas infrastructure operations by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.

For further information: Ohio/Virginia: 804-771-6115 | North Carolina/South Carolina: 800-562-9308

North Carolina Central University headed to the NCAA Tournament

With a 50-47 win over the Norfolk State University Spartans (21-3), the North Carolina Central University eagles (18-15) won the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Championship game and punched their ticket to the 2019 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The Eagles were led by Raasean Davis, who was voted the tournament’s most outstanding player. Davis scored eight points and snagged 14 rebounds. Zacarry Douglas chipped in to help with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

It's the third straight title for NCCU, securing its third consecutive trip to the Big Dance. NCCU is the first MEAC team to win three straight tournament titles since North Carolina A&T won seven in a row from 1982-1988.

“Typical championship game,” NCCU head coach LeVelle Moton said. “We knew we were going to be in for a dog fight. We knew there were going to be some high highs and low lows.”

The Eagles, have now won four MEAC tournament titles in eight years of being a full MEAC member.

“This is what we do it for,” Moton said. “You try to push and squeeze all the juice out of the orange and get them to believe in themselves. I’m thankful that they believed in themselves this week.”

The Eagles will now wait to see who they’ll face during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, March 17.