DOVER, Del. – Anthony Tarke scored 31 points on 11-of-11 shooting to lead Coppin State's men's basketball team to a 94-74 victory at Delaware State on Sunday night at Memorial Hall. The victory gives the Eagles at least a share of the MEAC Northern Division crown, its first regular season championship since the 2003-04 season.
A Mid-Season Watch List member for the Lou Henson Award, Tarke was dominant out of the gate as his 11-of-11 performance is a new school-record and is tied for the second-most field goals without a miss for any NCAA player this season. Tarke also dished out eight assists to match his career high, and matched a season-high with three 3-pointers.
Tarke was one of four Eagles in double figures as
DeJuan Clayton recorded 15 points, going over the 1,500 career points total in the process.
Yuat Alok made 5-of-9 field goals and a pair of threes and finished with 14 points.
Nendah Tarke added 13 points and added a season-high nine rebounds and five steals.
Koby Thomas just missed double figures with nine points and Coppin's bench added 11 points with
Dwaine Jones, Jr., leading the way with four points.
Kyle Cardaci and
Kenan Sarvan both hit triples and
Domantas Sakickas also added a bucket.
Coppin got off to a fast start with a 9-2 run as
Anthony Tarke scored five of the team's points and added an assist on Alok's jumper to open the game. Following a jumper by DSU, Tarke answered with a dunk on the other end, and after a pair of free throws, hit his first three of the game to give Coppin a 16-4 lead.
CSU's lead never got below double figures the rest of the game as it took a 48-24 lead into the half. Tarke had 17 points at the half and his five assists in the opening 20 minutes accounted for 13 more Eagles points.
Delaware State scored the first four points of the second half, but
Nendah Tarke and
Anthony Tarke put a stop to the run with eight quick points before Clayton buried a three with 16:18 remaining to put Coppin back on top, 59-31. Clayton's trifecta put him over the 1,500-point mark, making him the fifth player in school-history to do so.
Just under a minute later, Clayton drove to the hoop and converted on a three-point play the old-fashioned way, giving the Eagles their largest lead at 63-33 with 15:19 to play.
With the win nearly already in hand,
Anthony Tarke went baseline for a highlight-reel slam with 7:21 remaining for his final basket and following a jumper by DSU's
Dominik Frajala (28 points), fed Alok for a three with 6:54 to go.
Head Coach
Juan Dixon then began to empty his bench and the Hornets pulled to within 91-74 before Sarvan hit a three with 29 ticks remaining.
Coppin hit an impressive 55.6% from the floor, including 58.1% in the second half while holding the Hornets to just 38.2% shooting. The Eagles' shooting percentage is the second highest by the team under Dixon, and the highest since February 11, 2019 at South Carolina State. The 20-point margin of victory is the largest by CSU under Dixon.
The Eagles will head to the 2021 MEAC Tournament at Norfolk Scope Arena with a 9-12 overall record and 8-4 mark in the MEAC, tying them with Norfolk State. Morgan State is currently 6-4 in league play and is not yet officially scheduled to make up their final two games with the Hornets.
