PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Brendan Medley-Bacon scored a career-high 20 points along with 13 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Coppin State men's basketball team to a 63-60 victory at MEAC rival Maryland Eastern Shore on Thursday night at Hytche Arena. The Eagles enter next week's MEAC Tournament as the sixth seed at 11-20 overall and 7-9 in the MEAC. The Hawks move to 5-26 on the year and 4-12 in league play.
Inside the Numbers
- Brendan Medley-Bacon made his final claim for Defensive Player of the Year accolades as he went for a career-high 20 points to go with 13 rebounds and five blocked shots. The 7-foot-1 center from Baltimore made 8-of-16 shots from the field and all four of his free throws. It was his fifth game this season with at least five blocks and eighth double-double.
- Medley-Bacon now has a league-high 66 blocks this season which are the third-most in CSU single-season history. His 276 rebounds on the year are the sixth-most (4th during the NCAA era behind only Larry Stewart) in school-history. In league play, Medley-Bacon leads the MEAC in 12.5 rebounds (9.6 defensive) and 2.9 blocks per game.
- Kamar McKnight scored 17 points off the bench on 6-of-12 shooting with a pair of threes to go with four steals.
- Aaron Robinson also went for nine points off the bench with three 3-pointers.
- Koby Thomas finished with seven points and nine rebounds while Ibn Williams and Andrew Robinson chipped in with five points apiece.
- Coppin made 52.4% of its shots in the second half and finished the night at 36.4% compared to just 31.9% for Maryland Eastern Shore. The Haws made 11 3-pointers and kept it close as CSU made only 59.3% (16-of-27) of its free throws and 13-of-21 in the second half.
- Four Hawks finished in double figures with Ahmad Frost leading the way with 14 points while making just 5-of-23 from the floor and 3-of-18 from deep.
How it Happened
- Trailing by a slim margin early on, Coppin's Koby Thomas made a free throw to tie the score at 8-8 before Kamar McKnight made back-to-back threes to give the Eagles a 14-8 lead with 12:51 left in the first half.
- Coppin never relinquished the lead from that point despite Maryland Eastern Shore making it a one-possession game on numerous occasions.
- The Eagles went to the half with a 26-22 lead and the score remained tight until Coppin went on a 7-0 run over a 5:30 stretch to turn a 42-41 advantage into a 49-41 lead with 4:58 left in regulation after a pair of free throws by Brendan Medley-Bacon.
- UMES answered with five-straight points to get back to within 49-46, but Medley-Bacon hit a pair of jumpers and capped off another 7-0 run with a slam off a McKnight dish to give Coppin a 56-46 advantage with 2:14 to go.
- Medley-Bacon answered a Hawks layup with two more free throws at the 1:16 mark to extend the lead back to 58-48 and gave him 20 points for the game.
- The hosts kept fighting until the end as CSU made just 5-of-10 free throws in the final minute while UMES made three 3-pointers in the final 17 seconds.
- The Hawks had a desperation attempt to tie the score at the buzzer which fell short.
Up Next: Coppin will have an opening round bye and face third-seeded Norfolk State on Thursday, March 12 in the Quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament at Norfolk Scope Arena.
