Men's Basketball | 12/5/2014 1:37:00 PM
LIVE STATSLIVE VIDEO ($6 TO VIEW)BALTIMORE – There have already been a number of firsts for new Coppin State head men's basketball coach
Michael Grant: First game coaching at Coppin State, home game, and win.
Now, he'll guide the Eagles in their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener against Hampton Saturday night at the Hampton Convocation Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. It will be Grant's first MEAC game as head coach.
Coppin State is in the middle of a three-game road trip as it makes its annual trek to Virginia for a pair of tough contests in difficult environments. The Eagles finish off this trip Monday at Norfolk State. Overall, the Eagles are in an insane stretch of basketball game in which they are playing five games in a 10-day period.
Here's a look at Saturday's matchup against the Pirates.
SERIES HISTORY: Coppin State defeated Hampton in two of the three meetings last season, including, 83-77, in the MEAC tournament quarterfinals in their last encounter against each other. The teams traded three-point regular season road victories last year with CSU winning 71-68 at Hampton on Jan. 19 and Hampton winning 77-74 in overtime on Feb. 1 at Coppin State. Coppin State has won five of the last seven meetings and lead the all-times series, 18-16. This is the only meeting this season between Hampton and Coppin State.
LAST TIME OUT: Coppin State junior guard
Sterling Smith led four players in double figures with a season-high 16 points during an 84-76 setback to Towson in a men's basketball non-conference contest at SECU Arena Wednesday night. In addition to making 6-of-12 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, Smith led the Eagles in rebounding (six) and steals (two). Also reaching double figures for Coppin State (1-5 overall) was sophomore guard
Van Rolle, who finished with a career-high 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting,
Dallas Gary (scored a season-high 12 points) and
Taariq Cephas (10 points). Fripp added 14 points for the Eagles, who won their home opener after a brutal four-game road trip to begin the season.
A LOOK AT HAMPTON: The Pirates are 2-5 after defeating Tennessee State, 62-54, on the road Tuesday evening athanks to a balanced attack that saw four Pirates score in double figures. Redshirt junior guard/forward Dwight Meikle led the way with 15 points, hitting nine of his 10 free throws, to go along with seven rebounds. Junior guard Ke'Ron Brown added a season-high 14 points, going 8-for-12 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Deron Powers chipped in 11 points, and guard Quinton Chievous recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. For the season, Chievous leads the Pirates in scoring (12.3 points per game). Other double digit scorers for Hampton are Meikle (11.7) and Darden (10.7). Powers was named to the all-MEAC preseason first team.
FOUR SCORE: In a unique occurance,
Christian Kessee has had consecutive four-point plays in two games this week against Goldey Beacom (Mon. Dec. 1) and Towson (Wed., Dec. 3). Coppin State didnt have one four-point play last season. Kessee has made at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.
THREE-FOR-ALL: Coppin State leads the MEAC and is 10th nationally in 3-pointers made per game (10.0). The Eagles have made 60 3-pointers this season and that total is 38th nationally. Coppin State has four players in the top 15 in the MEAC in 3-point field goal shooting percentage:
Taariq Cephas (eighth, 43.3 percent),
Shomari Triggs (tied for ninth, 40.0), Kessee (12th, 38.9) and
Sterling Smith (15th, 34.5)
THIS IS HOW WE ROLLE: Van Rolle has made the most of his playing time this week against Goldey-Beacom and Towson, setting consecutive career highs in points. He scored nine points in seven minutes against GBC and had 13 points in 14 minutes against Towson. In the last two games, he's scored 22 points in 21 minutes of action.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Eagles are in the middle of a three-game road trip to Towson, Hampton and Norfolk State. This is Coppin's second road trip in the opening two months of three or more games. Overall, Coppin State plays 13 of its first 16 games on the road this season. The Eagles won't play consecutive home games until Jan. 17 & 19 when they host Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M.
