BALTIMORE – Coppin State’s Sam Sessoms scored a game-high 24 points with five 3-pointers to lead the Eagles to its second-straight win, a 75-68 victory over Navy on Monday night at PEC Arena.
The Eagles are now 2-2 on the year, which is their best start since the 2015-16 season, while the Midshipmen fall to 2-1.
Sessoms was one of three Coppin players to reach double figures as he made 7-of-12 from the floor, 5-of-9 from deep and 5-of-6 from the line. He added four rebounds, four assists and three steals on the night.
Mike Hood scored a season-high 15 points as he buried a pair of threes and made 7-of-8 at the stripe. Justin Winston also had 12 points.
Nendah Tarke stuffed the box score, contributing eight points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Isaiah Gross provided a spark on both ends of the floor with a season-high eight points along with four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Alex Rojas chipped in with six points and Justin Steers provided five rebounds, four assists and a key block late in the game.
Navy outshot Coppin, 45.5% to 39.0% but the Eagles got to the line more frequently and capitalized on its opportunities, making 19-of-25 while the Midshipmen made just 6-of-12.
Tyler Nelson led Navy with 21 points and Christian jones added 17.
Coppin opened a double-digit lead midway through the first half with a 14-2 run that gave it a 31-18 advantage at the 9:56 mark. It remained a large lead until Navy hit a three with under a minute to play, cutting the deficit to 41-32 margin at the half. Navy came out firing in the second half to make it a 45-41 game minutes before Hood it a three, followed by back-to-back triples from Sessoms, which increased the lead back to 54-41.
The Midshipmen answered with a three, matched by Hood, but Navy did not go away, slowly pulling to within 69-66 on a three by Jones with just under a minute to go.
Sessoms hit the second of two free throws before Coppin forced a turnover at the other end.
Sessoms and Steers hit four of the next four free throws and Hood added two more in the closing seconds to put the game out of reach.
Courtesy: Coppin State Athletics
