NORFOLK, Va. – Dejuan Clayton led five Eagles in double figures with a game-high 23 points while going 12-of-15 from the free throw line to give the Coppin State men's basketball team an 81-71 victory over archrival Morgan State in the First Round of the MEAC Tournament on Tuesday night. This is the first time since the 2015-16 season that Coppin advanced out of the first round of the MEAC Tournament. It's the third time ever and the first since 2003-04 that the Eagles swept three games in a single season from their crosstown rival.
"Morgan [State] punched us in the mouth early," said Coppin State's head coach
Juan Dixon. "But we were able to cut the double-digit lead at halftime. We played solid defense in the second half and we were able to put up good numbers offensively."
"That's one of the tougher teams in the MEAC." "It's hard to beat a team three times in a season."
The Basics:
Final Score: Coppin State 81, Morgan State 71
Records: Coppin State (8-24), Morgan State (9-21)
Location: Norfolk, Va. (Scope Arena)
Series History: Coppin State Leads, 60-32
Inside the Numbers
- Dejuan Clayton finished with 23 points and 12 of his points came in the second half. He made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 20 minutes. Clayton also dished out five assists.
- Chad Andrews-Fulton and Kent Auslander scored 12 points each while Lamar Morgan and Justin Steers chipped in with 11 points apiece. Morgan pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and made three 3-pointers while Auslander buried four from downtown. Steers also blocked three shots in just 14 minutes of playing time.
- Andrews-Fulton made all four of his field goals, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.
- Coppin outshot Morgan, 53.3% to 33.8% and held a 47-34 advantage on the glass. The Eagles made 60% of their shots in the second half compared to just 26.8% for Morgan State.
How it Happened
First Half
- Coppin looked to utilize its size advantage from the get-go as Chad Andrews-Fulton scored the first three baskets for the Eagles, giving CSU a 6-5 lead at the 17:37 mark.
- Morgan State answered with a three to go back on top and later used an 8-0 run to go up 21-11 with 13:12 remaining.
- The Bears extended the lead to as many as 40-26 with 2:32 left to play, but a couple of nifty drives by Dejuan Clayton, and a three by Kent Auslander off a pass from Clayton, helped Coppin close the period on a 7-1 run.
- Despite trailing, 41-33, at the half, Coppin outshot Morgan, 45.0% to 42.4% but 13 turnovers led to 18 Bears points. CSU also made just 11-of-19 from the free throw line.
- MSU also made 6-of-10 from 3-point range and got points from ten different players.
Second Half
- Dejuan Clayton opened the second half by getting to the line and making a pair of free throws and that was a theme for the rest of the game.
- Clayton scored the first four points of the period to cut the halftime lead to just four points and the deficit fluctuated between one and six points until midway through the half.
- After a layup by Morgan's Martez Cameron put the Bears up 58-52 at the 9:28 mark, Coppin scored ten-straight points, four of which came from freshman Justin Steers, to take a 62-58 lead with 6:38 to go.
- The Bears answered with a 5-0 run to retake the lead but Chad Andrews-Fulton hit a pair of free throws, giving CSU a 64-63 advantage just before the five minute mark.
- After a Morgan State miss, Lamar Morgan buried a three, and following a three-point play by Steers, he hit another to put the Eagles up 73-65 with 2:40 to go.
- Sherwyn Devonish scored four-straight for Morgan State but Coppin went 6-of-6 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.
- Coppin shot a whopping 15-of-25 (60.0%) from the field in the second half compared to just 11-of-41 (26.8%) for the Bears.
Up Next: Coppin State takes on second-seeded North Carolina A&T in the MEAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 13 at 8 pm.
