DOVER, Del. – Nendah Tarke led five Coppin State men's basketball players in double figures with a season-high 21 points while
Anthony Tarke notched his eighth double-double as the Eagles defeated Delaware State, 81-68 on Saturday night at Memorial Hall.
The victory puts Coppin at 8-12 overall with a 7-4 mark in the MEAC. A win tomorrow over the same Hornets team at 5 pm will give the Eagles at least a share of their first MEAC regular season crown since the 2003-04 season.
A freshman from Gaithersburg, Md.,
Nendah Tarke led all scorers with his new season-high as he made 7-of-13 from the floor with three 3-pointers. The younger Tarke also came up big on the defensive end, grabbing six rebounds to go with three blocks and two steals.
Nendah's older brother,
Anthony Tarke, had 15 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and a pair of steals.
DeJuan Clayton,
Kyle Cardaci and
Koby Thomas also finished in double figures as they combined for 39 points. Clayton scored 14 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the free throw line to go with five rebounds and six assists. Cardaci buried three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points while Thomas was a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
After playing to a 35-35 tie at the end of the first half, Coppin's defense held the Hornets to just 26.2% shooting in the final 20 minutes.
Delaware State scored the first five points of the second half to take a 40-35 lead a minute into the period, but it was all Eagles from there as Coppin went on a 10-0 run as
Nendah Tarke hit a three, followed by a dunk and another three by Cardaci with 15:18 to play.
The Hornets pulled to within 47-45 on a three-point play but the Tarke brothers and Cardaci kept pouring it on an helped the Eagles extend their lead to double figures.
With 7:37 to go, the hosts made it a one possession game once again at 63-60 but the Eagles put the game away with a 12-0 run, featuring six free throws and layups by
Yuat Alok,
Anthony Tarke and Thomas.
