VALPARAISO, Ind. – Three Eagles scored in double figures led by senior
Terry Harris Jr.'s 15 points in a 78-58 road loss to Valparaiso on Monday, Nov. 14 at the ARC.
Harris Jr. scored in double-digits for the first time this season finishing with 15 points on 6-of-16 made field goals and three made free-throws against the Crusaders. Harris added seven rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Senior
Joshua Treadwell had 11 points knocking down a pair of three-pointers and senior
Joseph Gripper scored ten points on 8-of-10 made free-throws while dishing out a team-high four assists.
Valparaiso finished with four in double figure scoring led by Shane Hammink's 23 points. The Crusaders shot 45% from the field and dominated the paint outscoring the Eagles 34-18. Coppin State's bench scored 21 points behind sophomore
Lucian Brownlee's nine points, freshman
Dejuan Clayton's six points and red-shirt freshman
Juwan Davenport's four points. Davenport also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Coppin State got off to a slow start with only one field goal in the first ten minutes of action. The Eagles made 8-of-9 early free-throws keeping within a five point margin of the Crusaders. Valpo used a 10-0 run to spring ahead 25-10 by the midway point, but Coppin State answered the Crusaders matching their 10-0 run with one of their own anchored by Harris and Gripper. The run helped the Eagles trim the deficit to single digits with five minutes left in the first half.
In the final four minutes of the first half the Crusaders increased their advantage back to double-digits and led by 17 (42-25) with just over a minute left. Brownlee nailed Coppin State's first three-pointer of the half with 35-seconds on the clock as the Eagles trailed the Crusaders, 42-28 at the half.
Harris Jr. scored ten points in the first half knocking down 4-of-7 field goals by the Eagles. He added four rebounds and made both of his attempts from the free-throw line. Gripper made 6-of-7 free-throws recording eight first half points and dished out two assists. Davenport came off the Eagles bench grabbed three rebounds and scored his first points of the season.
Valparaiso shot 54% (15-of-28) from the field in the opening half while Coppin State struggled on 27% (7-of-26). The Eagles made 13-of-15 free-throws and held an 18-17 advantage in first half rebounds.
The duo of Treadwell and Harris combined for the Eagles first 11 points of the second half. Valpo kept their advantage in the double-digit margin throughout the entire second half of the contest. CSU made ten second half field goals including a pair of three-pointers by Treadwell. Down the stretch, Brownlee scored three baskets in the final minutes as the Eagles dropped their second game of the year, 78-58 to Valparaiso.
Coppin State's third regular-season showdown comes against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Game time in the HTC Center is 7 pm (ET). This will be the first ever meeting between the Eagles and Chanticleers.
