NORFOLK, Va. – Kyle Cardaci led five Eagles in double figures with 17 points to lead the Coppin State men's basketball team to a 74-64 nationally televised victory at Norfolk State on Monday night at Echols Hall. The victory improves the Eagles to 7-12 overall and 6-4 in the MEAC while the Spartans fall to 10-7 on the year and 5-4 in league play.
The top 3-point shooter in the conference at 41.3% overall and 47.4% in MEAC play, Cardaci buried five 3-pointers, four of which came in the second half, to pace the Eagles.
Koby Thomas and
DeJuan Clayton added 14 points apiece as Thomas notched a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Anthony Tarke and
Nendah Tarke both scored 12 points as they stuffed the stat sheets on both sides of the ball. Anthony pulled down seven rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked four shots while Nendah chipped in with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Also contributing was
Yuat Alok with five points while
Dwaine Jones grabbed four rebounds and a pair of assists in 14 valuable minutes off the bench.
In a matchup that is always feisty, Coppin and Norfolk battled for position for much of the first half and the Eagles led just 21-19 with 5:39 remaining after a three by Kashaun Hicks.
Nendah Tarke answered with a jumper, followed by a three by Clayton and a free throw by
Anthony Tarke to extend the advantage back to 27-19 before an NSU jumper made it a 27-21 score.
Coppin ended the half on a 8-2 run, starting with a three by Cardaci and finishing with a triple by
Anthony Tarke to make it a 35-23 lead at the break. Norfolk's 23 points was their low first half total this season.
Norfolk came out of the break swinging and went on a 14-4 run to cut Coppin's lead to 39-37 but Cardaci hit a pair of quick threes to keep the Eagles on top. The Spartans were able to tie the score at 48-48 with just under ten minutes remaining until Cardaci hit a pair of free throws and another two triples to put Coppin back up eight, 59-51 at the 6:39 mark.
The Spartans came right back with a three to make it a five-point game, but that was as close as the hosts would get as
Anthony Tarke scored eight points over the final five-plus minutes to seal the win.
CSU shot 43.1% from the field, made 11-of-28 (39.3%) from deep and got to the line at will, making 19-of-33 from the stripe. The Eagles held Norfolk State to just 32.5% shooting on the night.
The Eagles are off next weekend and are scheduled to play at Howard on February 21-22. Both games are slated to be televised on ESPN+.
