BALTIMORE, Md. – Four Eagles reached double figure scoring led by senior Terry Harris Jr's 19 points and seven rebounds in a disappointing 76-74 loss to rival Morgan State on Saturday, January 28th in the Physical Education Complex.
Coppin State falls to 5-17 overall and 4-3 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play while Morgan State improves to 9-11 overall and 6-1 in league play.
Harris Jr. finished with 19 points, seven rebounds on 6-of-9 made shots from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Senior
Keith Shivers scored 16 points hitting a pair of three-pointers and recorded a career-high with six assists. Freshman
Dejuan Clayton scored 15 points also hitting a pair of three-pointers while knocking down 5-of-6 free-throws. Senior
Chas Brown finished with 14 points, six rebounds and senior
Joseph Gripper led the bench scoring with six points.
Morgan State took the first commanding lead in the crosstown rival game against Coppin State jumping ahead with a nine point lead by the 11:29 mark. Harris Jr. responded for CSU with a three-pointer and then on the next possession he was fouled beyond the three-point mark continuing to trim the Bears lead to three (21-18).
The Bears built their lead to double-digits with 4:41 left before halftime as the Eagles went scoreless from the field for a four minute stretch. The two teams picked up the scoring in the final moments of the half with Coppin State getting to the charity stripe frequently. Brown and Gripper converted on free-throws and a dunk by Shivers with 46-seconds trimmed the deficit (37-35). Morgan State's three-pointer with 13 seconds gave the Bears a five point cushion approaching halftime, 40-35.
Harris Jr. paced the Eagles first half scoring with 12 points. Brown had nine points and Shivers scored five points.
Morgan State began the second half on a 6-0 run taking a 46-35 advantage. Free-throws by Clayton ended the drought for Coppin State and then the Eagles switched gears by turning up the defensive pressure. Coppin State started to attack the paint with layups by Shivers and Brown. Clayton forced a Morgan State timeout at the 12:32 mark after hitting a long range three-pointer cutting the Bears lead to three (51-48).
The Eagles tied the game at 51-51 on a three-point play by Harris Jr. Morgan State settled down and went ahead by five over the next couple of minutes. The Eagles converted on 10-of-14 second half free-throws which kept them close. Gripper and Clayton both hit a pair from the charity stripe while a monstrous dunk by Brown tied the game (61-61) with 7:38 to play. Shivers began to heat up with seven consecutive points for CSU tying the game for the third time in the half (68-68) with 3:49 left in regulation. The Bears also did a good job at the charity stripe in the second half shooting 73-percent (16-22).
The Bears led 72-71 with one minute to go. MSU made a pair of free-throws increasing their advantage to three with 42-seconds left. The Eagles came down the floor and missed on a potential game-tying three-pointer leaving 25-seconds on the clock. The Eagles fouled and Morgan State made 1-of-2 free-throws to push their lead to four (75-71). On the next play, CSU missed their first three-point attempt but an offensive rebound by Clayton led to his second three-pointer of the half (75-74) with ten-seconds left in regulation.
After a quick foul Coppin State sent Morgan State to the free-throw line where they again made 1-of-2 from the line leaving hope for the Eagles. With eight seconds to go and trailing the Bears by two (76-74) Coppin State's final attempt came up short with a miss as Morgan State held on for a 76-74 win.
Morgan State's Tiwian Kendley scored a game-high 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field. He went 3-for-8 from three-point territory and converted on 9-of-13 free-throws. Antonio Gillespie added 12 points and Martez Cameron led them in rebounding with ten.
Coppin State hits the road for their next two games beginning with Hampton University on Monday, January 30th in Virginia at 7:30 p.m. and then will head to Princess Anne, MD to battle the Maryland Eastern Shore at 4 p.m.
