Men's Basketball | 1/18/2015 11:18:00 AM
BALTIMORE – The Coppin State men's basketball team finishes its brief two-game homestand by hosting Florida A&M Monday night in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside of the Physical Education Complex Arena.
Coppin State will be celebrating Teachers Appreciation Night where any teacher/educator who shows an ID is admitted free to the game.
This will be FAMU's first trip to Baltimore since the 2010 season. Despite losing three straight meetings to FAMU, including last season's 81-72 decision in Tallahassee, the Eagles lead the all-time series, 34-20. Coppin State's last win over the Rattlers was 70-44 in 2010.
Both squads played Saturday. Coppin State fell to Bethune-Cookman, 58-53, at home despite 12 points and six rebounds from senior guard
Taariq Cephas. Florida A&M got 28 points and 12 rebounds from Jermaine Ruttley in a 75-65 road loss to Morgan State.
The Eagles (1-16 overall, 0-4 MEAC) have been playing better recently, but they have nothing to show for their efforts in the all-important win column. Four of its last five losses have been by five points or less. In three of those games, the Eagles have led with two minutes remaining only to be frustrated at the finish.
Coppin State's defense has improved as it has held four consecutive opponents under 80 points. The Eagles limited Bethune-Cookman to 34 percent shooting (18-for-53). In each half, BCU did not make double-digit field goals. Coppin State also forced 23 Wildcat turnovers and limited them to one made 3-pointer.
While Coppin State has done a great job of defending the 3-pointer in its last two games, the Eagles have hit a brief drought in making 3-pointers. In its last two games combined against Howard and Bethune-Cookman, Coppin State has made nine 3-pointers combined. Consider that the Eagles have made at least nine in a single game 11 times this season.
Senior forward
Arnold Fripp leads three CSU players in double figures with a 12.0 point per game average. Fripp, who has grabbed seven or more rebounds in four of CSU's last five games, leads the Eagles in rebounding (5.9). Cephas is second on the team in scoring (11.1). He is also third in the MEAC in assists per game (4.1) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8).
Junior guard
Sterling Smith is third on the Eagles in scoring (10.4 ppg.) and second in rebounding (4.6). He had nine points against Bethune-Cookman after making a trio of 3-pointers. In last season's matchup against the Rattlers, Smith led Coppin State with 20 points.
In addition to Ruttley's second double-double of the season against Morgan State, freshman
Jorge Rosa scored 15 points and freshman Craig Bowman added 12 points.
The Rattlers (0-17, 0-4) trailed 42-30 at the break, but opened the second half with a 14-4 scoring surge to pull within two points, 46-44 on Rosa's three-pointer with 11:23 to play. Ruttley scored 17 of his game-high 28 in the second half, while Rosa scored 10 of his 15 in the final stanza, including a pair of three-pointers.
For the season, Ruttley leads the Rattlers and is seventh in the MEAC in scoring (14.9 points per game). He also leads FAMU in rebounding (5.9). Rosa chips in 9.7 points per game. The Rattlers are last in the MEAC in scoring offense (53.7), blocks, assists, steals and 12th in scoring defense and 3-point field goals made.
Coppin State hits the road for its next three games beginning with a visit to reigning MEAC Tournament champion North Carolina Central Saturday afternoon in Durham at 4:00 p.m.
