BALTIMORE – Sam Sessoms hit a stepback jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift the Coppin State men's basketball team past Loyola University Maryland, 74-71 on Saturday night at Reitz Arena. A senior from Philadelphia, Pa., Sessoms finished with 35 points on 15-of-22 shooting as the Eagles improve to 4-6 on the season.
Inside the Numbers
- Sessoms' 35 points are a season-high and it was the seventh time in his career, the first time this season, that he went for over 30 points. His 15 field goals match a career-high that he set against Boston University on December 7, 2019, as a member of Binghamton where he scored a career-high 40 points.
- Sessoms now has 1,946 career points and the 35-point outburst was the fourth-most he has scored in a game. He also added a game-high four assists.
- Isaiah Gross hit three 3-pointers, two coming in the final three minutes, for nine points while Nendah Tarke, Justin Steers and Kam'Ron Blue all had eight points apiece.
- Tarke stuffed the stat-sheet with a season-high ten rebounds, five steals and three assists.
- Coppin continued to shoot well from the floor, outshooting the Greyhounds, 52.6% to 48.1%, but the Greyhounds stayed in the game with 13 free throws.
- Loyola had three players in double figures, led by Kenneth Jones with 18 points.
How it Happened
- Loyola's largest lead came just before the end of the first half at 38-30, but Tarke hit a three as a time expired to make it a 38-33 deficit at the break.
- Sessoms went to work early in the second half, just like the first, converting on a three-point play before finding Blue for a three at 17:53 to cut the score to 41-39.
- After a Loyola free throws, Sessoms recorded back-to-back layups to give the Eagles back the lead at 43-42 with 16:41 left.
- The Greyhounds built back their lead to 60-53 before Gross buried his first of three triples at the 8:00 mark.
- Sessoms also nailed a three and Blue drove in for a layup to make it a one-point game with 3:34 to play.
- Gross tied the score at 64-64 with another three with 3:01 left to play before putting the Eagles on top, 67-65, with another three with 2:16 to go.
- Loyola came back to tie the score at 69-69 on a three by Jones with just under a minute remaining before Sessoms nailed two free throws with 40 ticks remaining.
- Alonso Faure tied the score at 71-71 with 24 seconds left after a layup before Sessoms cleared everyone for the eventual game-winning shot from the right side.
Up Next: Coppin will play back-to-back games in North Carolina, starting with North Carolina State on Tuesday, December 6 in a 7 pm tipoff. The game will be televised on ACC Network and played at James Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum.
