CHICAGO- Coppin State's men's basketball team dropped its second straight game in consecutive days falling to DePaul Wednesday night, 97-72 inside Wintrust Arena.

The Eagles were down one going into the half after Jesse Zarzuela came off the bench to ignite the momentum for Coppin.

He led all Coppin players with a team-high 25 points and three rebounds. Mike Hood dropped 18 points with two rebounds while Nendah Tarke tallied 11 points, had three assists and led in rebounds with five. Justin Steers also recorded eight points and one block.

Hood also led the Eagles with three assists and two blocks. Kyle Cardaci recorded six points, one assist and two steals.

CSU's bench scored 33 points compared to DePaul's 28. Overall, the Eagles were 24-58 from field goal range and shot 11-22 from the three-point range.

The Blue Demons was led by Javon Freeman-Liberty' double-double, 25 points and 10 rebounds. David Jones also recorded a double-double with 23 points and 17 rebounds, while Brandon Johnson notched 13 points and seven rebounds.

Coppin opened the first half scoring seven consecutive points in less than two minutes of play, including a layup from Mike Hood, two made free-throws by Nendah Tarke, and a three from Kyle Cardaci, placed Coppin with their largest leading score of the game (7-2).

Justin Steers maintained Coppin's early momentum with four points in under three minutes, as Jesse Zarzuela scored eleven consecutive points, including a floater, back-to-back threes, and an and one layup.  

CSU's hot hand's continued with back-to-back threes by Mike Hood, along with a dunk by Nendah Tarke.  

By halftime, CSU was down by one to DePaul, 40-41.

Coppin had a solid second half start, with Jesse Zarzuela opening the half sinking a three, and Kyle Cardaci and Mike Hood added defensive momentum with back-to-back steals.  Mike Hood controlled DePauls momentum with another three-pointer followed by a step-back jumper.  DePaul's lead was still in single digits with 13:12 on the clock.  

DePaul's Javon Freeman- Liberty and Brandon Johnson helped put the game away for the Blue Demons.  The Blue Demons outscored Coppin 56-32 in the second half.

Coppin State continues its road swing taking on Rider in Lawrenceville, New Jersey on Friday, November 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Alumni Gym.