BALTIMORE – Koby Thomas scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting along with a team-high eight rebounds to lead the Coppin State men's basketball team to a 72-65 win at crosstown rival Morgan State on Saturday night at Hill Field House. The Eagles now have ten victories this season, their most since the 2013-14 campaign.
Inside the Numbers
- A junior from Philadelphia, Pa., Koby Thomas' 28 points surpassed his 24 points that he scored against Howard on January 27. Four of Thomas' 11 field goals came on dunks. Thomas also made 6-of-8 free throws and added three steals and two blocks to lead all players.
- Dejuan Clayton and Kamar McKnight also finished in double figures for the Eagles with 13 points and 11 points, respectively. Both made a pair of 3-pointers and combined to make 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Clayton dished out a team-high three assists while McKnight matched Thomas with three steals.
- Brendan Medley-Bacon also had eight points and eight rebounds and blocked a shot while Aaron Robinson and Andrew Robinson combined for 11 points.
- Coppin made 50.0% of its field goals in the second half, overcoming a 10-point first half deficit, and made 39.0% of its shots for the game. The Eagles sunk 20-of-29 (69.0%) free throws.
- Morgan State outrebounded Coppin, 50-30, but CSU forced the Bears into 27 turnovers and turned that into 26 points.
- The Bears got 14 points apiece from Stanley Davis and Malik Miller.
How it Happened
- Morgan State started off strong, an 8-0 run to get out to a 10-3 lead, which extended to as many as 20-10 with 9:18 remaining on a jumper by Troy Baxter.
- Aaron Robinson answered with a three and both Ibn Williams and Kamar McKnight answered with free throws to cut that deficit in half, and the Eagles closed to within 24-23 with 3:55 left on an alley-oop from McKnight to Koby Thomas.
- The Bears finished the half on an 8-2 run as CSU went did not make a field goal following the dunk by Thomas.
- Coppin went on an 8-0 run to start the second half to take a 33-32 lead with 17:22 remaining as Dejuan Clayton hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
- Like most games in the East vs. West Baltimore Rivalry, the second half remained close throughout until Coppin went on a 10-2 run to take a 62-51 advantage with 5:55 remaining.
- Morgan State battled back to within 67-65 with 42 seconds to go but Clayton made 5-of-6 free throws and pulled down three defensive rebounds down the stretch to seal the victory.
Up Next: Coppin closes out the regular season at 7:30 pm on Thursday, March 5 at Maryland Eastern Shore.
