Spartans Race Past Coppin State, 88-69
NORFOLK, Va. – Juniors RaShid Gaston and D’Shon Taylor led the way with double-doubles, and the Norfolk State men’s basketball team pulled away from Coppin State in the second half in an 88-69 MEAC victory on Monday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
Gaston posted his fifth straight double-double with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with 13 rebounds and three assists. Taylor led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 field goals, including a 5-of-7 effort from the 3-point line. He also posted 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The victory moved NSU’s record to 2-0 in conference play and 6-4 overall heading into the rest of the non-conference schedule. CSU fell to 1-7 overall, 0-2 in the MEAC.
In a game that featured a lot of quick back and forth action, including a combined 27 fastbreak points, the Spartans had their highest scoring output over Coppin State in a regulation contest in 31 games. CSU came into the game dead last in the nation in scoring defense.
Junior Jeff Short added 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting with three rebounds and three assists for NSU. It marked the second straight game two Spartan players scored at least 20 points.
The Spartans now own a 24-11 edge in the all-time series with Coppin State. The 19-point victory was the largest for NSU over the Eagles since the programs’ first meeting in 1982-83, a 21-point win for the Spartans.
NSU shot 33-of-63 (52.4 percent) from the field, including an 11-of-22 effort from the line. The Spartans had 21 assists on those 33 buckets. And thanks to the 23 boards combined from Taylor and Gaston, NSU held a 49-33 edge on the glass.
Taariq Cephas led the Eagles with 16 points, while Sterling Smith and Arnold Fripp each added 15. CSU shot 28-of-76 overall (36.8 percent), including a 6-of-35 effort from beyond the arc.
Malik Thomas added 14 points, five assists and four rebounds for NSU. He and Short combined to hit 6-of-13 from 3-point range. Zaynah Robinson, meanwhile, contributed eight points, four rebounds and two steals while also playing 14 minutes in the second half and 18 altogether.
NSU will head out on the road to take on Mount St. Mary’s this Saturday.
Hawks zoom past Aggies in second half
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball recorded their first conference win of the season with a second half comeback against the North Carolina A&T Aggies on Monday night. UMES (4-7, 1-1) stormed back in impressive fashion after trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half.
The Hawks did a fantastic job of collapsing the Aggies’ defense and then kicking out for open three-point shots. In addition to Martin’s four three-pointers, Devon Walker hit four shots from beyond the arc and freshman Ryan Andino added three triples. As a team, UMES shot 40.0% from the field and 42.3% from the three-point line. The only struggles were from the foul line at 57.9% (22-of-38).
Forward Mike Myers faced double and triple teams all game, and he still managed to put up 12 points and seven rebounds. Myers also was primarily responsible for three separate Aggies fouling out, Steven Burrough, Jerome Simmons and Bryan Akinkugbe. Senior Ishaq Pitt fared well as the primary distributor, racking up six assists to go along with three steals.
The Hawks evened their conference record to 1-1 and improved to 4-7 on the season, having now won three of their last four games. Meanwhile, the Aggies extended their losing streak to now nine games, dropping to 0-2 in the MEAC.
UMES returns to its non-conference slate for six games, before getting back to MEAC play on January 12. The Hawks will wrap up the homestand with a Saturday night matchup against the Navy Midshipmen. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at W. P. Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md.
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