Antonio Munoz put on a dunk show to lead Grambling State to a convincing 80-68 win over Norfolk State in the Thursday night cap of the 2025 Chris Paul HBCU Hoops Classic at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, GA. Munoz finished with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
The rim was unkind to the Spartans early. While the struggle scoring the ball was real for Norfolk State, the Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead. A blocked shot by Jimel Lane turned into the first highlight of the game. Munoz got out on the break and finished it with a thundering dunk. He had three more rim-shaking dunks, including one that put a Spartan defender on a poster.
Munoz and guard Rickey Ballard outscored the entire Spartans squad 24-21 in the first half. The Tigers built a 17-point lead on 48.39% (15-31) shooting from the field. The Spartans shot 23.68% (9-38) from the field over the same time span.
A different Spartans team emerged from the locker room at halftime. Devon Ellis scored the first 8 points for Norfolk State. His jumper at the 16:30 mark cut Grambling’s lead to 14.
Another blocked shot by the Grambling defense ignited a 9-3 run punctuated by Jamil Muttilib’s huge dunk in the lane. The senior guard scored 13 points in 21 minutes of play off the bench.
The Spartans outscored Grambling 47-42 in the second half on a much improved 64.29% (18-28) shooting from the field. Norfolk’s hot shooting was not enough to outpace the steady shooting of Rickey Ballard. The guard scored 9 points in the first half and 10 in the second, primarily on 4-6 shooting from behind the arc. Ballard knocked down four of his five three throws in the final minute to ice the game.