A wild finish in the MEAC tournament championship ended brutally for South Carolina St. Top-seeded Norfolk St. punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 66-65 victory after SC St. mistakenly fouled the Spartans following a game-tying bucket with less than 10 seconds remaining.
The two-seed Bulldogs erased an 8-point deficit with less than a minute on the game clock, capped by a stolen inbound pass and layup by senior Caleb McCarty to level the score at 65-65. McCarty, seemingly unaware he tied the game, quickly fouled Norfolk St.’s Christian Ings on the subsequent inbound pass, sending the Spartans to the line with 8 seconds left. Ings made one of two from the stripe, and the Bulldogs’ last-second attempt rimmed out.
MAHEM IN THE MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP!! SC State gets the steal and tying layup on the inbounds before Caleb McCarty FOULS Norfolk State with 8.9 remaining while TIED.
Norfolk State wins and is going to the NCAA tournament 66-65 pic.twitter.com/a8cls0oyTA
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 15, 2025
The two teams shared the MEAC regular-season title. Norfolk St. (24-10) heads to the big dance for the first time since 2022 and the third time in 12 seasons under head coach Robert Jones. SC St. (20-13), in its third season under head coach Erik Martin, has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2003.
Playing in their home city at the nearby Norfolk Scope Arena, the Spartans ended the Bulldogs’ 11-game win streak, climbing back from a nine-point halftime deficit. Norfolk St. is a likely 16- or 15-seed in next week’s bracket.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Mike Caudill / AP)
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