BALTIMORE, Md. – Three Eagles scored over 20 points for the first time in recent memory as the Coppin State men's basketball team defeated archrival Morgan State, 80-73, in overtime in front of a raucous PEC Arena on Saturday afternoon. The victory moves the Eagles to 2-19 on the year and 2-4 in the MEAC while the Bears fall to 7-12 with a 3-3 mark in conference play.
Lamar Morgan led Coppin with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting while matching his season-high with seven three-pointers.
Karonn Davis matched a career-high with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Davis also dished out six assists to just one turnover in 44 minutes of action. Inside,
Chad Andrews-Fulton recorded a career-high with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 7-of-12 from the line while finishing a rebound shy of a double-double.
Coppin got out of the gate blazing going on a 14-2 run to open the game, including a pair of triples from Morgan and a pair of layups by Andrews-Fulton. The Eagles' 14
th point came on a dunk by
Cedric Council off a nifty pass from Davis just after Morgan had called a timeout.
The Bears were able to claw back into it and were able to tie the score at 25 just before the half. The second period featured six ties and ten lead changes as Morgan and Andrews-Fulton tallied 15 points apiece in the period.
No team led by more than four in the second half but with Coppin leading, 64-60 with 54 seconds left to play following a layup by Andrews-Fulton,
Phillip Carr, the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, drilled four free throws, including two with six seconds left to tie the score.
Coppin had a chance to win it in regulation as Davis was able to get to the paint but his floater came up short.
Morgan got on the board first in overtime with a layup by
Stanley Davis, but Davis hit a pair of free throws to tie it up to start a 10-0 Eagles run. The ten-straight points featured another dunk by Council and a pair of assists by Davis and was punctuated by two free throws by Andrews-Fulton with 1:50 left, giving Coppin a 74-66 lead
The Bears were able to cut the deficit to 76-73 with 19 seconds left but Davis hit two more free throws almost immediately after and
KeAndre Fair drilled two more with 11 seconds to go, sealing the victory.
Coppin's 80 points were a season-high as it outshot Morgan, 45.5% to 38.9% and held a 43-40 advantage on the boards. The Eagles also made a season-high 22 free throws on 32 attempts.
Tiwian Kendley led all scorers with 26 points but was forced into going 10-of-26 shooting and committed seven turnovers. Davis and
Martez Cameron finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively and Carr was held to just six points and three rebounds before fouling out in just 21 minutes.
Up next for Coppin will be South Carolina State on Saturday, January 27 at 4 pm.
