ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Coppin State's 3-point attempt at the final buzzer rimmed off as the Eagles fell to Bradley, 56-54, on Thursday night at Eckerd's McArthur Center. CSU fell to 1-3 on the season while the Braves evened their record at 2-2.
 
Brendan Johnson, who led the Eagles with 14 points, gave Coppin back the lead at 54-53 with 38 seconds left as he isolated and pulled up for a midrange jumper.  After a timeout, Bradley missed a layup, but Coppin was called for goaltending on a tip-in attempt with 17 seconds remaining.
 
The Eagles turned the ball over at the other end and Johnson fouled immediately as Bradley inbounded the ball with four seconds left.  The Braves made the second of two free throws to go up by two.
 
With Johnson fouled out, Hussain Williams got the call following an Eagles timeout. Williams fed Baasil Saunders the inbounds pass and Saunders returned the ball just before crossing midcourt.  Williams dribbled twice up the court and his attempt from the logo rimmed out.
 
Bradley outshot Coppin, 37.8% to 36.4%, hit one more 3-pointer and made 17-of-24 free throws compared to 10-of-12 for the Eagles.  Coppin made just 26.9% from the floor in the second half but held the Braves to 23.8% shooting.
 
Camaren Sparrow, Tafara Gapare and Williams all had eight points apiece with Jamari Piercy recording seven. Williams, who hit a pair of threes, led all players with eight rebounds and Piercy had a game-high three assists.
 
CSU will stay in the Tampa area and is back in action on Saturday, November 14 when it faces USF in a 2 pm tipoff on ESPN+.