COPPIN STATE 72, MORGAN STATE 65 Thomas, Eagles rebound in 2nd half to beat Bears
If the first half of Saturday’s game against Morgan State had been a boxing match, Coppin State would’ve been down for the count. Time and again, the Eagles lost battles on the boards, getting outrebounded by a nearly 3-to-1 margin and falling behind by double digits.
If ever there was an apropos moment for a between-rounds pep talk, Eagles coach Juan Dixon knew this was it.
“We tried to emphasize boxing out going into the game, but the guys needed to hear it again at halftime,” Dixon said. “We answered the bell in the second half.”
Coppin came out of the break with a renewed sense of purpose, negating host Morgan’s advantage on the boards and scoring 24 of the first 34 points of the half, as guard Koby Thomas finished with a game-high 28 points and eight rebounds in a 72-65 win in the 94 th all-time meeting between the crosstown rivals before an announced 3,012 at Hill Field House.
After trailing by as much as 10 in the first half, Coppin (10-20, 6-9 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) built a seven-point lead by midway through the second following back-to-back 3-pointers by Kamar McKnight (11 points) and Aaron Robinson. Forward Dejuan Clayton scored all 13 of his points after the break, as the
Eagles shot 50% from the floor.
After getting outrebounded, 30-12, in the first half, Thomas said what the team needed was a change in attitude.
“They were just out-working us in the first half,” Thomas said. “At halftime, we just decided to play harder than them. We know we can really play harder than anybody else if we just put our minds to it. That’s all we had to do.”
McKnight’s 3-pointer with 6:20 to play then pushed the Eagles’ lead to 61-51, and although Morgan (15-15, 9-6 MEAC) tried to battle back, the hole was too deep. The Bears at times hurt their own cause, as well, turning over the ball 27 times.
Stanley Davis and Malik Miller each scored 14 for Morgan, which was denied its third straight win.
The Bears started particularly strong, dominating the glass in the early minutes and building a 20-10 lead on Troy Baxter’s 17-footer midway through the first half.
The Eagles, however, quickly clawed back into it, time and again forcing turnovers at the defensive end and embarking on a 13-4 run of their own, punctuated by Thomas’ one-handed slam off an ally-oop pass from McKnight to get them back to within one.
The Bears outrebounded the Eagles, 30-12, in the half.
Coppin, which leads the all-time series, 61-33, now has gone 6-5 over the past six weeks following a 4-15 start
“It’s the perfect time to start playing this way going into the tournament,” Thomas said. “I believe we’re going to do great in the [MEAC] tournament. You all ain’t seen nothing.”
“You’ve got to keep getting better this time of year,” Dixon said. “We’ve been preaching all year, only one team from our conference can go to the NCAA Tournament. That’s been our ultimate goal since Day One.”
Women
Morgan State 68, Coppin State 42: Forward Dahnye Redd scored 18 points and guard Chelsea Mitchell had 17, each also finishing with nine rebounds as the Bears ran out to a large early lead to win their third straight.
Morgan took control with an early 8-0 run, capped by four straight points by Mitchell (Atholton), and extended its lead to 18 when Elaija Demeza nailed a 3-pointer 1:27 before halftime.
The Bears (15-13, 11-4 MEAC) have won three straight and five of their past seven. A win to close the regular season Thursday against Norfolk State would earn head coach Ed Davis Jr. his 400th career victory, including stints at Bowie State and Delaware State.
Forward Oloyede Oluwadamilola scored 12 to lead Coppin (3-24, 3-12), which shot just 29.1% from the field.