Men's Basketball | 2/12/2015 11:34:00 AM
BALTIMORE – The Coppin State men's basketball team concludes its season-long four-game homestand by hosting Howard University Saturday afternoon in the Physical Education Complex in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's basketball matinee.
Tip-time for the Eagles' Homecoming contest is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
Fans will want to arrive early as there are plenty of special activities prepared throughout the afternoon. The 1996-97 men's basketball team will be presented with its championship rings in a special ceremony between games. That Coppin State made history by becoming the first MEAC school and No. 15 seed to win a NCAA Tournament game when it defeated No. 2 seed South Carolina, 78-65.
At halftime of the men's game, the 2015 Hall of Fame class will be recognized along with a major surprise for one of Coppin State's former student-athletes.
While all of those activities are nice, the current group of Eagles (5-19 overall, 4-7 MEAC) is focused on bouncing back from Monday's 73-70 loss to Savannah State. The Tigers won the game with a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining. It was the latest string in a series of tough defeats for Coppin State. Since December 28, six of Coppin State's eight losses have been by five points or less.
Three of those defeats occurred in the final three seconds, including the Eagles' 71-69 road setback to Howard on Jan. 10. In that game, Howard's James Carlton made a pair of foul shots with 1.9 seconds remaining to provide the winning margin.
Against Savannah State, Coppin State junior guard
Sterling Smith scored a career-high 27 points. He was 8-for-10 shooting from the floor and 6-of-7 from 3-point distance. It was the fourth time this season Smith has scored at least 20 points. As a team against SSU, Coppin State made 12-of-17 from 3-point distance, including its first seven attempts.
Coppin State senior forward
Arnold Fripp was named MEAC and College Sports Madness Player of the Week. Senior guard
Taariq Cephas has handed out at least six or more assists in each of his last two games. The Eagles lead the MEAC in scoring offense (70.6) and 3-pointers made per game (9.3). They have made nine or more 3-pointers in a game 17 times this season.
Meanwhile, Howard (12-12, 6-4) dropped a pair of close road games to Norfolk State and Hampton last weekend. The Bison lost 73-69 to Hampton in overtime in their last outing on Monday despite 24 points and eight rebounds from Carlton, who is averaging 21.3 points per game in 10 conference contests this season. Last year's MEAC Rookie of the Year James Daniels leads Howard in scoring (16.7 points per game).
Coppin State returns to action Monday night when it plays its penultimate road game against Delaware State at Alumni Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m.
