BLACKSBURG, Va. – Three Eagles scored in double figures as Coppin State's men's basketball team dropped its season opener at Virginia Tech, 100-55, on Monday night at Cassell Coliseum.
Preist Ryan led the Eagles with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting in his collegiate debut while
Justin Winston matched him with 12 points, hitting all six of his free throws and two 3-pointers.
Toto Fagbenle went for ten points, a team-high five rebounds, a block and three steals.
Freshmen
Ryan Archey and
Camaren Sparrow recorded eight and seven points, respectively, in their first career games, while
Malik Battle (three),
Zahree Harrison (two) and
Luka Tekavcic (one) also chipped in with points.
Virginia Tech had five players score in double figures and outshot Coppin, 51.6% to 37.3% while holding a 43-22 advantage on the boards.
How it Happened
- Virginia Tech started the game with a pair of free throws before Sparrow hit a three for the first bucket of the Larry Stewart era as head coach with 17:03 left in the half.
- The Hokies answered with a 12-2 run over the next five and a half minutes with Fagbenle finding the bottom of the net with a jumper in the paint.
- A layup by Harrison cut the Hokies' lead to 14-7 at the 11:17 mark, but the hosts scored the next 14 points and by as many as 26 before the half.
- Ryan and Sparrow started the second half with back-to-back jumpers and Winston hit four-straight free throws over the first 2:30 of the period.
- Virginia Tech kept pulling away and used a 12-0 run starting with six minutes remaining and never looked back.
Up Next: Coppin welcomes Towson to PEC Arena for its home opener on Thursday, November 9 at 8 pm.
