Dover, Del. (Feb. 16, 2015) --- Sterling Smith led four Coppin State players in double figures with 27 points in the Eagles' 96-92 MEAC win over Delaware State in Memorial Hall this evening.

The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Hornets, who fell to 12-14 overall and 6-5 in the MEAC. Coppin State snapped a two-game skid to improve to 6-20 and 5-8.

The Eagles also won their third straight over the Hornets, including two in a row in Memorial Hall.

The loss overshadowed a 39-point performance by DSU's Amere May, his third game with 30-or-more points this season. May launched a total of 34 shots from the floor, hitting 16. He was five-of-10  on three-point shots and two-for-two at the free throw line.

Smith was nine-for-15 from the field, including six-of-10 from three-point territory. He scored Coppin State's first 14 points, including four three-pointers in the first 5:28 of the game. Smith also pulled down 10 rebounds to tie for the team lead.

The score was 14-14 when Taariq Cephas hit a three-pointer to give Coppin State the lead for good.

The Eagles led 33-24 before Delaware State scored the next eight points to pull to within one. Kendall Gray capped off the spurt with two free throws to cut the Eagles' lead to 33-32 with 3:52 left in the first half.

Coppin State answered by scoring 15 of the final 19 points in the half to take a 48-36 lead into the locker room at the break.

The Eagles stated strong in the second half, scoring 10 of the first 15 points to extend their lead. A jumper by Christian Kessee off a feed from Cephas gave Coppin State a 58-41 advantage at the 17:17 mark of the second half.

May nailed a three-pointer and Jason Owens converted an old-fashioned three-point play to pull Delaware State to within 63-55 with 12:23 left to play.

Coppin State responded with a 13-2 run to open up its biggest lead of the game. Gary Dallas capped off the run with a free throw to give the Eagles a 76-57 lead with 8:57 remaining in the game.

The Hornets cut the deficit to seven at the 3:38 mark of the second half, and outscored the Eagles 9-2 in the final 36 seconds to make the margin of defeat more respectable.

Arnold Fripp also recorded a double-double, tallying 22 points (eight-for-13 FGs) and 10 rebounds; while Cephas and Gary Dallas added 15 points each for the Eagles.

Kendall Gray was second on the Hornets with a career-high 25 points. He also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to post his 15th double-double of the season. Gray's previous scoring high was 21 in the Hornets' 66-53 win over Delaware on Dec. 7.

Freshman forward Kavon Waller was the only other Delaware State player in double figures with a career-best 11 points.

Delaware State was 33-for-88 from the field in the game (37.5%), including 12-of-42 in the first half (28.6%).

Coppin State hit 13 of its 26 second half shots (50%) to improve to 47.5% for the game (28-for-59).

The Eagles were 10-for-27 on three-point shots (37%), while the Hornets eight-of-26 (30.8%) from beyond the arc.

Delaware State won the rebound battle 53-to-45, although Coppin State's bench outscored the Hornet reserves 24.7

DSU returns to action this Saturday (Feb. 21) at Hampton in the first of a two-game road swing. Game time is 6 p.m. in Hampton, Va. DSU will also visit Norfolk State next Monday (Feb. 23) before returning home to face UMES on Feb. 28.

STINGERS
Delaware State's 88 shot attempts marked a season-high … The Hornets have scored 273 points in the last three games (91.0 ppg) … May scored a career-high 48 points vs. St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 17, the top scoring game in Div. I this season.