DOVER, Del. – Coppin State's men's basketball team rallied from seven points down to defeat Delaware State, 53-51 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Hall in the MEAC opener. The Eagles moved to 3-15 on the season while the Hornets fell to 5-11.
Taj Thweatt scored a game-high 13 points, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the floor with three 3-pointers, while freshman
Nelson Lamizana was also in double figures, tallying ten points with a pair of threes.
Hussain Williams and
Jamari Piercy added eight points apiece, followed by
Chris Morgan with seven points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Williams and Morgan led Coppin with six rebounds each while three other Eagles were credited with five.
The Eagles buried seven 3-pointers and held Delaware State to just 36.8% shooting from the floor while making 40.8% of their shots.
Trailing, 48-45 with 3:33 left in regulation,
Khali Horton, the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, tied the score with a three before Thweatt put the Eagles on top after tipping in a miss with 1:49 remaining. DSU hit 1-of-2 free throws at the other end to give Coppin's lead to a point before a layup by Piercy with 24 seconds left.
DSU missed both free throws after a quick CSU foul, and following a Coppin miss, Morgan blocked a potential game-tying three, grabbed the rebound and hit a free throw with six seconds left to seal the win.
Coppin returns to the court on Saturday, January 10 when it hosts NC Central for a 4:30 pm tipoff on ESPN+.
