BALTIMORE – Florida A&M shot 58.6% from the floor in the second half to rally past and edge the Coppin State men's basketball team, 72-70, on Saturday afternoon at PEC Arena.
Chad Andrews-Fulton matched a career-high with 21 points to lead Coppin State.
The Basics
- Final Score: Coppin State 70, Florida A&M 72
- Records: Coppin State 3-19 (3-4 MEAC) / Florida A&M 7-14 (4-2 MEAC)
- Location: Baltimore, Md. (PEC Arena)
- Series History: Coppin State Leads, 37-22
How It Happened
First Half
- Both teams went scoreless for the first three minutes of the game before Florida A&M's Justin Ravenel and Coppin's Lamar Morgan traded 3-pointers; the first of nine tis in the first half.
- Both teams fought for position throughout the period as neither team took a lead of more than three points until the final minute.
- Ravenel hit a three with 4:05 left to put the Rattlers on top, 23-21, but the Eagles closed the half on a 12-4 run to go up 33-25 at the half; their largest lead of the game.
- Following Ravenel's three, Kent Auslander and Dejuan Clayton each made a free throw and Chad Andrews-Fulton buried a three to give CSU a 26-23 lead with 2:12 to go.
- FAMU answered with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one but CSU got a three from Morgan, a layup by Andrews-Fulton and another layup by Morgan just before the buzzer.
Second Half
- Florida A&M came out strong in the second half, quickly cutting deficit to a single basket but Coppin extended its advantage back to eight points at 52-44 with 9:02 left.
- Ravenel then led the Rattlers on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 53-52 with 6:56 left but Coppin's Lucian Brownlee buried a three to put CSU back on top, 55-53.
- The teams traded scores but FAMU went on an 11-0 run to go up 66-57 with 2:39 remaining.
- CSU did not go down without a fight as Andrews-Fulton made a pair from the stripe and Clayton drove in for a layup, cutting the deficit to five.
- The teams traded a free throw apiece and after another two points by Ravenel which got the lead back to 71-62 with 31 ticks left, CSU kicked the defense up a notch.
- Andrews-Fulton converted on a three-point play with 23 seconds to go and then scored following a turnover, making it a four point game with just 16 seconds remaining.
- After a FAMU miss, Morgan snuck inside and converted on another three-point play to make it a 71-70 ballgame with three seconds to go.
- The Rattlers made the first of two free throws and CSU's desperation heave was off the mark.
Inside the Numbers
- Chad Andrews-Fulton matched a career-high with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting while making two 3-pointers, but made just 5-of-10 free throws. He also led all players with nine rebounds.
- Dejuan Clayton added 16 points with seven assists and two steals. He also made 8-of-10 from the line.
- Lamar Morgan was also in double figures with 11 points to go with seven rebounds, making 4-of-6 and a pair of 3-pointers.
- Lucian Brownlee and Kent Auslander added six points apiece while Justin Steers pitched in with five and Brendan Medley-Bacon with four.
- Florida A&M's Justin Ravenel led all players with 28 points (18 in the second half) with five 3-pointers. Tracy Hector also provided a spark for the Rattlers with 16 points and eight rebounds.
- After shooting 58.6% from the field in the second half, FAMU outshot Coppin, 46.3% to 42.3%. Both teams made seven 3-pointers. Coppin made just 19-of-29 free throws (65.5).
Who's Next?
- The Eagles host Bethune Cookman in a 7:30 pm tipoff on Monday, January 28 before welcoming archrival Morgan State Saturday, February 2 at 4 pm.
