ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Mastadi Pitt scored 17 points and Steven Whitley hade 16 and Norfolk State broke the game open after halftime and beat South Carolina State 78-54 on Saturday.

Norfolk State (4-15, 2-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) led 35-31 at intermission and scored seven points in 81 seconds with layups from Whitley and Alex Long and a 3-pointer from Kyle Williams to open the second half.

Damani Applewhite had a layup and a pair of free throws and Janai Rayner-Powell had a jumper to bring the Bulldogs within 54-46 but they couldn't get closer the rest of the way. Whitley and Pitt hit 3-pointers for a 54-41 lead. An 8-0 run later pushed the lead to 68-50 with 5:07 left.

Williams scored 13 points and Long finished with 12. Norfolk State shot 31 of 59 (52.5 percent) from the field including 11 of 25 from 3-point range.

Applewhite paced South Carolina State (7-13, 3-2) with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs were 15-of-51 shooting (29 percent).