BALTIMORE – Toby Nnadozie scored a career-high 25 points and the Coppin State men's basketball team held Howard to just 33.9% shooting in a 72-61 victory on Monday night at PEC Arena. The Eagles now stand at 5-21 overall and 3-8 in the MEAC while the Bison fell to 12-16 on the year and 7-4 in league play.
Checking the Box Score
- Nnadozie hit 10-of-14 from the floor and made his first five 3-point attempts and finished 5-of-6 from distance to lead all scorers. He added three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
- In just his second game back from injury, Derrius Ward pitched in with 17 points while making his presence known on both ends of the floor with a pair of blocks and a steal.
- Peter Oduro added eight points and matched Julius Ellerbe III with a team-high six rebounds.
- Camaren Sparrow scored seven points, followed by Zahree Harrison with six and Ellerbe with four.
- Cam'Ron Brown also came up big with three points at the free throw line to go with four rebounds and three assists.
- The Eagles shot 43.9% from the floor, hit 6-of-14 from deep and 16-of-18 (88.9%) from the line while outscoring Howard, 28-12 inside the painted area.
- Coppin also forced Howard into 20 turnovers, the third time this season that the Eagles forced at least 20 turnovers. CSU is 3-0 in those games.
How it Happened
- After Howard opened the game with a three, Oduro came right back with a midrange jumper.
- Ward was then rewarded at the other end following his block with a layup to give Coppin a 4-3 lead at the 18:22 mark.
- Coppin never trailed from then on as Ward added another layup, followed by a jumper by Nnadozie just before the first media timeout.
- Howard twice cut the lead to just one point, but Harrison and Nnadozie hit jumpers to keep them at bay.
- The Bison kept it close and hit a three with 1:38 left in the half before Coppin closed the period on a 9-0 run which included a buzzer-beater from just inside half court by Nnadozie.
- The Eagles help Howard to just 19 points in the first half, led by as many as 16 in the second half and Howard got no closer than 43-36 with 10:39 left in regulation.
- With just inside the five minute mark, Sparrow hit a layup, made a steal in the backcourt and went in for the breakaway layup to put CSU up, 55-41 which sealed the win.
Up Next: Coppin heads to Delaware State on Saturday, March 1 before closing the regular season at home against Maryland Eastern Shore (Mar. 3) and Morgan State (Mar. 6).
