BALTIMORE, Md. – Senior
Chas Brown tipped in the game-winning basket downing North Carolina A&T, 75-73 in overtime on Saturday, January 14
th inside the Physical Education Complex.
The Eagles recorded a season-high shooting percentage from behind the arc at 57%. Coppin State also excelled with 30 free-throw attempts and four blocks to anchor their defense. The Eagles did a good job at protecting the rim only allowing NC A&T to the free-throw line for nine attempts.
Chas Brown recorded the Eagles' first double-double of the year with a team-high 18 points and a season-high ten rebounds against the Aggies. Brown also had four assists and two blocks which were also season-best as he made 7-of-13 shots from the field. Freshman
Dejuan Clayton was perfect from the free-throw line hitting 8-of-8 attempts, finishing with 15 points and two steals in 41 minutes of action. Senior
Terry Harris Jr. scored 14 points, had six rebounds and two steals and senior
Joshua Treadwell led the Eagles bench scoring with 11 points knocking down 3-of-4 three-pointers.
NC A&T led for the majority of the first half hitting 7-of-9 three-pointers to get things rolling. The Aggies led by no more than seven points in the first ten minutes as the Eagles kept within striking distance. Back-to-back baskets by junior
Blake Simpson brought CSU within two points (18-16) by the 9:29 mark. Sophomore
Lucian Brownlee was one of three Eagles to make a three-pointer in the first half, but NC A&T held a slim advantage and then pushed it to double-digits (36-26) with 2:36 left on the clock. Brown had ten first half points controlling the paint on 5-of-8 made field goals. Harris added five points and Coppin State went into halftime down, 36-27.
In the second half the Aggies held on to their lead for the first 14 minutes on several layups in the paint by their post players. The Eagles turned to their backcourt of Clayton and Treadwell for much needed scoring in the final minutes. Clayton's aggressive play allowed him to get to the charity stripe for six attempts and Treadwell made a pair from downtown rallying the Eagles.
Clayton tied the game at 53-53 with 6:11 left to play on a fast break layup where he drew the foul and made the free-throw. The Aggies took a two point lead but on the ensuing possession fouled Clayton where he went on to make both free-throws. NC A&T fouled him behind the arc as he followed that up with three more shots from the charity stripe allowing the Eagles to take the lead while the clock is stopped with 4:39 to go.
Coppin State found themselves with a 67-64 lead after Treadwell's three-pointers with just over a minute to go in regulation. The Aggies came down the court and hit their own long range shot tying the ball game up at 67-67. Treadwell gave the Eagles another lead (69-67) on a jumper with 35-seconds left, but once again NC A&T matched that basket leaving 26-seconds for CSU. The Eagles attempt at a game-winning basket rolled out and a late tip-in also failed as the teams went into overtime tied at 69-69.
In the extra period, NC A&T scored the first four points springing out to an early 73-69 lead with 2:38 to go. Clayton made a pair of free-throws to get the Eagles overtime scoring started and then Brown's dunk tied it all up (73-73) with 47-seconds remaining. The Aggies offense struggled in the final minute and failed to get off a shot while Coppin State strapped up defensively and hit the glass during the last seconds. The Eagles missed a three-pointer with less than five seconds to go, but Brown was able to wiggle his way into the paint and tip the ball in for the game-winning basket with two seconds left. The Aggies attempt at three-pointer came up short as the buzzer sounded in favor of Coppin State, 75-73 in overtime.
Coppin State heads to Washington, DC on Monday, January 16
th for a meeting with the Howard Bison at 4 p.m. The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Bison 42-21 and won the second of two meeting last season at home 90-66 on February 13, 2016.
