NORFOLK – The Eagles (9-21, 6-10) are the No. 11 seed in the men's bracket and will face the No. 3 seeded South Carolina State Bulldogs (17-13, 12-4) on Thursday, March 10 at 6 p.m in the quarterfinals round of the 2016 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament.
ABOUT THE EAGLES· The Eagles have gone 9-21 with a 6-10 MEAC record and were seeded No. 11 entering the 2016 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament in Norfolk, VA … Coppin State pulled off an upset in the opening round of the tournament defeating NC A&T in double overtime 98-91 … That was the Eagles first overtime victory of the season after going 0-6 in the regular season.
· Two Eagles scored 20+ points led by
James Sylvester's game-high 24 points. Sylvester went 6-for-10 from the field and converted on a career-high 10-of-12 free throws.
Christian Kessee added 23 points on 7-of-15 from the field and made six three pointers. Kessee's final three pointer with 11 seconds left in the second half gave the Eagles a 80-78 lead before heading into overtime.
· Coppin State has four players who have each averaged 10.0 or more points per game -
Christian Kessee (14.6),
Terry Harris Jr. (12.5),
James Sylvester (10.1), and
Joshua Treadwell (10.1) … Harris ranks fourth among all MEAC players in rebounding per game (7.3).
· The Eagles have made a 3-PT FG in 189 consecutive games, the longest streak in the NCAA.
THURSDAY'S GAME· No. 11 seed Coppin State and No. 3 seed South Carolina State will square off this Thursday in the quarterfinals round of the 2016 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament in Scope Arena. Thursday's game will mark the sixth time the teams have met in the MEAC Tournament with the Bulldogs holding a 4-1 lead in the series. Overall the Eagles have are 31-28 against the Bulldogs and have won seven of their last eight meetings. In their regular season matchup, Christiian Kessee exploded for a career-high 27 points knocking down six three pointers in an 88-83 road loss on Feb. 6, 2016.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS· Under the direction of third-year head coach Murray Gavin, South Carolina State clinched the No. 3 seed heading into the MEAC Tournament after going 17-13 this season, posting a 12-4 mark in MEAC play. The Bulldogs went 10-1 at home and 6-11 on the road.
EAGLES IN THE MEAC TOURNAMENT· Coppin State won their opening round game on Monday night upsetting the No. 6 North Carolina A&T 98-91 in double overtime. Last season Coppin State went 1-1 in the MEAC Basketball Tournament defeating Bethune-Cookman (64-60) but falling to N.C. Central (91-43). The Eagles went 2-1 back in 2014 with wins over Bethune-Cookman (75-68) and Hampton (83-77). The Bulldogs and Eagles met five time in the MEAC Tournament with South Carolina State holding a 4-1 advantage.
CSU WINS IN OVERTIME FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON·
Christian Kessee's three pointer with 11 seconds left in the second half gave the Eagles a two point lead before NCA&T converted on a pair of free throws sending the game into overtime. The Eagles were 0-6 overall and 0-4 in MEAC play when the game went into an extra session. Coppin State ended the streak with a much needed victory in the MEAC tourney.
SCORING DEFENSE & REBOUNDING LEADS TO WINS ALL SEASON· Coppin State is 6-0 when their opponents score less than 70 team points. In addition, the Eagles are 5-1 when playing MEAC opponents and win the rebounding battle.
EAGLES AMONGST THE MEAC· The Eagles are second in the MEAC in three point field goals made (7.6 avg/g) and in offensive rebounding (13.0 avg/g). Chrisitan Kessee leads the conference in three point field goals made while ranking 13th in scoring while Terry Harris is 20th in scoring.
KESSEE SHOOTS LIGHT OUT· Junior guard
Christian Kessee leads the Eagles in points (14.5 ppg), field goals made (4.6 per game), 3-Point FGs made (2.7 per game), free throw percent (81.1 %), and in minutes (31.7). He scored in double figures 24 times this season and in eight consecutive games. Nine times this season he has made four or more three-pointers in a game. He tied a career-high scoring 27 points twice in the month of February.
HARRIS HITS THE BOARDS· Junior forward Terry Harris, Jr. averages 7.3 rebounds per game. Eleven times this season he grabbed double digit rebounds and has eight double-double performances.
TREADWELL SPARKS LINEUP· Junior forward
Joshua Treadwell started for the Eagles in the last seven games averaging 16.7 ppg and 8.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 51% from the field and 43% from three point range. In all seven games he scored in double figures and grabbed seven or more rebounds.
TEAM SUPERLATIVES
MOST POINTS IN A GAME: Christian Kessee, 27 points, vs. Howard (Feb. 13, 2016)Christian Kessee scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half by knocking down 4-of-5 attempts from three point range and 7-of-9 shots from the field. He finished with seven rebounds and a pair of assists in the Eagles largest win margin of the season (90-66).
MOST REBOUNDS IN A GAME: Terry Harris, 14 rebounds, Bethune Cookman (Jan. 16, 2015)Terry Harris Jr., led the way in the Eagles first MEAC win of the season with 14 rebounds against Bethune Cookman. Harris tallied seven offensive and seven defensive boards.
MOST STEALS IN A GAME: Keith Shivers, 4 steals, vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (Jan. 30, 2016)Keith Shivers was a force defensively coming up with four steals at home in a tough overtime loss to Maryland Eastern Shore. The Hawks finished with 18 turnovers.
