BALTIMORE, Md. – Coppin State was outscored 27-11 over the final ten minutes as Savannah State rallied to defeat the Eagles men's basketball team, 80-71, on Saturday afternoon at the PEC Arena. The loss drops the Navy & Gold to 0-17 and 0-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference while the Tigers now stand at 4-12 after their MEAC opening game.
Three Coppin players finished in double figures, led by
Lamar Morgan's game-high 26 points. A junior from Willingboro, N.J., Morgan made 10-of-17 shots from the floor along with six 3-pointers, to go with a team-high six rebounds.
Also scoring double-digits were
Lucian Brownlee who added a career-high 17 points off the bench. Brownlee sunk 6-of-7 from the floor and 4-5 from downtown on the day and went a perfect 5-for-5 five three triples in the first half for 13 points.
Karonn Davis also had a solid all-around day for the Eagles with 11 points, eight assists to just one turnover, and five rebounds.
The matchup between a pair of teams who rely on the long ball was a game of runs for several parts of the game. Savannah opened the game with a 10-3 run but Coppin marched right back with eight straight points behind a three by Morgan and a pair of deep jumpers by Brownlee.
The Tigers then answered back to take a five-point lead but after another three by Brownlee gave the Eagles a 37-35 lead with 1:12 remaining in the period, Savannah scored the final five points of the half to take a 40-37 lead at intermission.
Out of the break, the Tigers were able to extend the lead to seven points with 16:44 left but Coppin once again made a run to take a 52-51 lead after another three-ball by Morgan with 13:20 left. Savannah responded with a layup but the Eagles ran off eight-straight over the next 2:38 to take their largest lead at 60-53 with 9:59 left on a layup by
Adam Traore (5 pts, 5 rebounds).
The Blue & Orange laden Tigers scored eight-straight points but a pair of free throws by
Chad Andrews-Fulton (6 pts, 4 rebounds) gave Coppin back the one-point lead at 62-61 with 7:09 remaining. Savannah would maintain a small lead for a couple minutes but when a three by Brownlee gave the Eagles a 69-68 advantage with 3:47 remaining, the Tigers made back-to-back three's and a pair of free throws with 2:15 left to put the game out of reach.
Four Savannah players finished in double figures, led by
Javaris Jenkins with 19 points.
Dexter McClanahan recorded a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds.
The Navy & Gold return to action at 7:30 pm on Monday, January 8 when it hosts Florida A&M in MEAC action.
