Pendarvis Williams scored 22 points to lead Norfolk State to a 71-61 win over Howard on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.
The No. 2 seed Spartans (23-9) play the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal game between Delaware State and Florida A&M in one semifinal Friday.
Kyle O'Quinn added 18 points and Marcos Tamares had 13 for the Spartans, who won their fifth straight game.
Norfolk State never trailed and led by as many as 19 points in the first half. Howard battled back to tie the game 54-54 with 6:47 remaining after a 3-pointer by Glen Andrews. The Spartans answered with a 9-0 run and the lead never dipped below six points the rest of the way.
The Spartans shot 56.8 percent from the field (21 of 37), including making 9 of 14 form 3-point range.
Andrews scored 21 points for the Bison (10-21).
