Box Score Baltimore, Md. (Jan. 5, 2021) --- Delaware State rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to tie the score late in the game, but ran out of gas in an 81-77 MEAC men's basketball loss to Coppin State at the PEC Arena this evening. The Eagles swept the two-game series to improve to 2-0 in the MEAC (3-8 overall), while the Hornets are 0-2 in MEAC and 0-7 overall this season.
Delaware State trailed 32-31 at the half, but fell behind 62-51 after a dunk by Coppin State's Koby Thomas with 8:55 left to play.
The Eagles held a 69-60 lead after another dunk by Thomas with 4:26 remaining before the Hornets rallied back.
Delaware State outscored CSU 12-3 over the next three minutes, and tied the score at 72-72 on a three-pointer by Zach Kent (so.) with 1:29 remaining.  Omari Peek-Green (so.) and Martaz Robinson (fr.) also nailed three-pointers during the DSU spurt.
On the ensuing Coppin State possession, Thomas again scored from down low to put the Eagles back in front 74-72.
The Hornets tied the game again when Pinky Wiley (sr.) knocked down two free throws, but Kenan Sarvan answered with a three-pointer to give the Eagles a 77-74 lead with 28 ticks on the clock.
Delaware State committed a turnover and was forced to foul on the ensuing Coppin State possession. Nendah Tarke hit one of the two at the foul line to give the Eagles a 78-73 lead with 19 seconds to go in the game.
The Hornets missed a three-point attempt on their next possession and Coppin State's DeJuan Clayton hit two at the line to stretch the Eagles' lead to 80-74 with eight seconds left.
Myles Carter (sr.) led four double-figure scorers for Delaware State with 15 points on seven-for-12 shooting from the field, including a three-pointer.
Kent and Dominik Fragala (jr.) added 13 points each for the Hornets. Kent also had six rebounds and two blocks to give him a team-high 11 for the season. Fragala tied his season high with three three-point field goals.
Peek-Green chipped in 11 points, also knocking down three three-pointers.
Wiley had just nine points, but led DSU with seven rebounds. He also nailed a three-pointer for the 18^th consecutive game, dating back to the 2019-20 season.
Robinson, a Baltimore-area native, led the Hornets with a career-high six assists.
Clayton and Thomas were high scorers for Coppin State with 18 points each, while Anthony Tarke filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, six steals and five blocks for the Eagles.
Coppin State shot 45.9% from the field for the game, connecting on 28 of 60 shots, including eight of 30 from three-point range.
Delaware State was 28 for 75 from the floor (37.3%). The Hornets knocked down a season-high 13 three-pointers in the game on 35 attempts (37.1%).
DSU won the rebound battle for the second straight game 48-44.
The Hornets are scheduled to return to action with MEAC contests at Howard this weekend (Jan. 9-10).