BALTIMORE, Md. - Coppin State men's basketball fell in a tenacious battle to University of Maryland Eastern Shore 64-61 at the PEC Arena on Saturday evening. The Eagles are now 3-2 in MEAC conference play.
Tyree Corbett had a double-double with a team high 16 points and 12 rebounds. Nendah Tarke also finished the evening with a double-double, recording ten points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and six steals.
Jesse Zarzuela accumulated 13 points in just seven minutes of action, as he went 3-of-3 from beyond the arch. Isaiah Gross was prominent for Coppin with eight points, consisting of two threes with an and-one lay-up. Kyle Cardaci and Mike Hood contributed six points each.
The Eagles kept it close with the Hawks throughout the entire game. The first half started off as a three-point shootout, as both teams exchanged four possessions of made threes. Corbett responded to a 6-0 Hawks run with six straight points, as Hood drained a three to tie the score at 33-33 with 2:07 to go. Coppin trailed UMES by two at the end of the half with a score of 35-32.
The Hawks came with vengeance at the start of the second half and took a 13-point lead midway through the half. Gross hit a momentum shifting three to cut the Hawks lead into single digits. Corbett then hit back-to-back buckets to bring the Eagles within six with just under six minutes of play.
In the last five minutes, the Eagles capitalized from foul troubles of UMES. Corbett and Tarke combined to hit six free-throws and brought UMES lead to just three. Corbett's three-point attempt in the closing seconds rattled in and out, as UMES snuck away with a win.
The Eagles will be on the road against Delaware State on Monday, January 31 at 7:30 pm, weather permitting.
