ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Coppin State's men's basketball team held a brief lead midway through the second half but was unable to hang on, falling, 72-62 to South Alabama on Saturday afternoon at McArthur Center in the final game of the Showdown in St. Pete MTE. The Eagles fell to 0-6 on the year while the Jaguars remain unbeaten at 5-0 overall.
DeMariontay Hall led CSU with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Hussain Williams was the only other Eagles player in double figures with 12 points as he hit 7-of-8 free throws.
Hassan Perkins and
Khali Horton added nine points apiece as Perkins buried three 3-pointers and dished out five assists.
Tyler Koenig had a team-high eight rebounds, and the Eagles were credited with a season-high 16 assists.
Baasil Saunders and
Torrin Andrews both had three assists to follow Perkins in the category.
South Alabama outshot Coppin, 41.3% to 37.5%, and scored 23 points off 13 Eagles turnovers.
The Jaguars led by as many as 31-23 with just over three minutes left in the first half, before a layup by Hall and a three by Saunders with 2:20 to go. South Alabama scored with 1:03 to play and took a 33-28 lead into halftime.
Williams scored eight points in a row early in the second half, giving CSU its first lead, 38-37, at 15:04. South Alabama regained the advantage on the ensuing possession before Horton hit another three with 13:41 left to put Coppin back on top.
USA came right back with a three and never looked back and began to extend its lead with a 9-0 run to go up 64-52 with just over five minutes in regulation.
Coppin welcomes Central Penn College to PEC Arena for its home opener on Tuesday, November 18 at 11:00 am.
