BALTIMORE – Derrius Ward returned to action and scored a season-high 26 points to lead all scorers, but it was not enough as Coppin State's men's basketball team fell to Norfolk State, 79-63 on Saturday afternoon at PEC Arena. The Eagles now stand at 4-21 overall and 2-8 in the MEAC while the Spartans improved to 19-8 on the year and 9-1 in league play.
Checking the Box Score
- Ward hit 8-of-15 from the floor with a career-high six 3-pointers while adding 4-of-5 from the line to lead all scorers. He had missed the last 19 games due to injury and was leading the team with 12.4 points before the injury.
- His 26 points is the second-most of his career as he went for 27 points against Warner last season when he played at Florida Memorial.
- Peter Oduro was the only other Eagles player in double figures with ten points, and he was followed by both Toby Nnadozie and Jonathan Dunn with eight points apiece.
- Khali Horton added five points, Zahree Harrison tallied four and Julius Ellerbe III chipped in a pair.
- Ward and Dunn led the team with seven rebounds each while Dunn, Nnadozie and Cam'Ron Brown were all credited with three assists.
- Nnadozie, who leads the MEAC in steals, finished with four steals on the day.
- Norfolk State had six players finishing in double figures and outshot Coppin, 47.2% to 38.3%.
- Both teams got to the free throw line often and made a solid percentage with the Spartans making 24-of-33 (72.7%) compared to 20-of-26 (76.9%) for the Eagles.
How it Happened
- Norfolk State got out to a great start, scoring the first nine points in just 88 seconds to force an early Eagles timeout.
- Ward came off the bench during the stoppage and quickly scored before layups by Horton and Dunn cut the deficit to just three.
- The Spartans answered with a 12-1 run to extend their advantage to 21-7 and they maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the half.
- NSU led by as many as 48-24 with 12:19 left in regulation but the Eagles continued to fight with Ward leading the way.
- With just under five minutes remaining, Norfolk hit a pair of free throws to go up 68-49 before Harrison hit a pair of shots from the stripe and Ward hit back-to-back threes.
- Ward added two more free throws to get Coppin within 70-59 with 3:01 remaining , but that was as close as the Eagles would get.
- Fifteen of War's points came in the second half.
Up Next: The Eagles host Howard in a MEAC matchup on Monday, February 24 at 7:30 pm.
