Hot-Shooting Morgan State Downs Coppin State, 86-68

BALTIMORE - Andre Armstrong scored a game-high 24 points, but Blake Bozeman led six players in double figures with 16 points as Morgan State rallied for an 86-68 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Coppin State on Wednesday in Hill Field House.

Morgan State (11-14, 7-6 MEAC) trailed 38-36 at halftime, but shot 72.0 percent from the floor in the second half in outscoring the Eagles 50-30.

DeWayne Jackson and Shaquille Jackson each had 14 points for Morgan State, while Justin Black had 13 points, Anthony Hubbard had 11 points and Ian Chiles finished with 10 points.

Coppin State (6-23, 3-11 MEAC) also received 14 points from Patrick Cole and six points and nine rebounds from Michael Murray.

A dunk by Zachary Burnham gave Coppin State a 43-39 lead with 18:31 to play in the game, but Morgan State answered with an 11-0 run to take the lead for good.

A layup by Duncan gave the Bears a 56-45 lead with 13:34 to play, but a jumper and a three-pointer by Collin Johnson and a layup by Armstrong brought the Eagles to within 56-52 with 11:16 to play.

Bozeman hit a three-pointer for the Bears to extend the lead to 59-52 with 10:54 left in the second half.

A free throw by Armstrong brought Coppin State to within 68-59, but a dunk by Chiles and a three-pointer by Jackson extended the lead to 73-59 with 6:00 to play and the Eagles never got the deficit under 10 points for the remainder of the game.

After falling behind 17-6 after a layup by Blake Bozeman with 11:25 to play in the first half, Coppin State used the three-point shot to get back into the game.

Michael Murray and Charles Ieans hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Morgan State lead to 17-12 with 10:25 remaining in the first half.

After two free throws by Shaquille Duncan, Colin Johnson connected on another three-pointer trimming the MSU lead to 19-15 with 8:53 remaining in the first half.

Ian Chiles scored on a dunk for the Bears to push their led to 21-16, but Coppin State answered with a 16-3 run to take the lead.

Patrick Cole ignited the run with two three-pointers and Taariq Cephas added a jumper giving Coppin State its first lead of the game at 24-21 with 5:57 to play in the half.

Andre Armstrong hit another three-pointer and Cole capped the run with a layup and a three-pointer to increase the Eagles lead to 32-24 with 3:58 remaining in the half.

Murray gave Coppin State its largest lead of the half at 35-26 with a free throw, but Morgan State closed the half on a 10-3 run to cut the halftime deficit to 38-36.

For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com.