Coppin gets first win after 15 straight losses

Clayton scores 23 as Eagles open conference play; Morgan wins league opener

DeJuan Clayton scored a game-high 23 points and host Coppin State men’s basketball used a strong first half to carry the Eagles past Savannah State, 73-67, Saturday.

The win broke a 15-game losing streak as the Eagles improved to 1-15 and 1-0 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. The Tigers fell to 3-12, 0-1.

Some of Coppin State’s earlier losses included No. 4 Virginia, Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

The Eagles outscored Savannah State, 28-22, in the first half before trading buckets in the second half. The lead changed once and Coppin’s largest lead, 25-13, came with 5:58 left in the first half.

MORGAN STATE 66, UMES 53: Stanley Davis scored 15 points, Malik Miller added 14 for the host Bears (6-8, 1-0 MEACA). The Hawks fell to 2-14, 0-1.

David Syfax added 11 points and eight rebounds, Davis had six rebounds and Miller added four rebounds, three assists and three steals for Morgan State,

Ahmad Frost scored 14 points and made four of UMES’ six 3-pointers. Tyler Jones had nine points and seven rebounds for the Hawks.

The game was tied at 43 midway through the second half before Morgan State scored the next six points and went on to lead by 10, 54-44, after a layup by Davis with 7:15 remaining.

Eastern Shore briefly cut the margin to nine with 3:57 to go but would get no closer. The Bears had only 10 turnovers compared to 22 by the Hawks.

UMBC 61, MAINE 52: Brandon Horvath (Southern) scored 13 points, Daniel Akin added 12 with eight rebounds and the host Retrievers (9-7) came back from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Bears (2-14).

UMBC (9-7), opening defense of its conference title, scored the final eight points as the Black Bears went scoreless over the final 5:45.

The Retrievers trailed 37-24 with 17 minutes left before going on a 22-6 run that included three 3-pointers by Arkel Lamar for his nine points and six Maine turnovers to lead 46-43 with 10:20 remaining. Andrew Fleming scored five straight Maine points to briefly retake the lead before a Horvath 3-pointer and dunk put the Retrievers up for good.

During UMBC's game-ending run, Akin scored five straight points coming on two layups and a free throw after Fleming was called for a flagrant-one foul for knocking Akin down after a basket. Fleming finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Maine, which has lost five straight games and nine in a row to UMBC.

ROBERT MORRIS 62, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 59: Vado Morse (19 points) went 1-for-2 from the line with 1:02 left to give the visiting Mount (3-12, 0-2 Northeast Conference) a 59-58 lead before the Colonials (7-8, 2-0) went on a 4-0 run to win.

Robert Morris took a 30-19 lead in the first half .

UNC WILMINGTON 67, TOWSON 61: Devontae Cacok led a balanced attack with his 10th double-double of the season and 45th of his career for the visiting Seahawks (6-10, 2-1 Colonial Athletic Association).

Jay Estime' led UNC Wilmington with 13 points and Jaylen Fornes had 11. Cacok had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Shawn O'Connell scored a career-high 10, with the duo combining to shoot 9 of 10 from the field.

Cacok's layup and Estime's 3-pointer put the Seahakws up 62-52 with 21⁄2 minutes left. But Brian Fobbs scored the last nine points for the Tigers (5-11, 1-3), getting them within four twice in the final minute. UMES 73, MORGAN STATE 68: Brooklyn Bailey and Ciani Byrom each scored 16 points to lead the Hawks (5-9, 1-0 MidEastern Athletic Conference) past the host Bears (2-13, 0-1). Adre’onia Coleman (St. Frances) and Ashia McCalla each scored 18 points for Morgan State. UMES beat its third local opponent after downing Mount St. Mary’s, 86-73, on Dec. 20 and UMBC, 73-67, on Dec. 31.

SAVANNAH STATE 74, COPPIN STATE 70: Brooke Fields (Institute of Notre Dame) scored a game-high 19 points, but the host Eagles (0-13, 0-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) fell to the Tigers (3-7, 1-0). Coppin State trailed by 10 points with less than five minutes left to play and went on an 8-0 run. Fields went 4-for-4 from the line over the run. The Eagles haven’t won a game since Nov. 6.

ROBERT MORRIS 70, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 58: Juliette Lawless went 7-for-11, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and 12-for-15 from the line for a game-high 28 points, but the visiting Mount (6-6, 0-1 Northeast Conference) fell to the Colonials (4-8, 1-0). Robert Morris led 62-50 with 2:20 left in the game before Mount St. Mary’s went on an 8-0 run and cut the deficit to four.

MAINE 84, UMBC 44: The host Black Bears (9-6, 2-0 America East) opened with a 31-8 run in the first quarter and routed the Retrievers (7-7, 0-1). Tyler Moore had 11 points for UMBC, which has lost its last two games.