Courtesy of Coppin State Athletic Communications


Box Score


BALTIMORE – Anthony Tarke stuffed the stat-sheet and finished two assists shy of a triple double as the Coppin State men's basketball team held on to defeat MEAC rival Delaware State 81-77 on Tuesday night at PEC Arena.

The Eagles took both games from the Hornets on back-to-back nights to start conference play.
 
A redshirt senior from Gaithersburg, Md., Tarke recorded 13 points with a season-high 11 rebounds along with eight assists, six steals and five blocks.  Tarke's eight assists match a career-high and his steals and block numbers were both career-highs.
 
Coppin continued to get great point production from multiple players as Koby Thomas and DeJuan Clayton led all scorers with 18 points apiece.  Thomas also grabbed ten rebounds for a double-double while Clayton added six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Kyle Cardaci made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points and Kenan Sarvan made four triples for 12 points.
 
Coppin started the game out on a 10-2 run, highlighted by a dunk from Anthony Tarke to open the game and a pair of three-pointers by Sarvan. The lead was short lived, however, as the Hornets went on a 15-3 spurt to take a 17-13 lead at the 10:36 mark.
 
The teams played virtually even the remainder of the period with four leads and a tie occurring in the final 10-plus minutes of the period as Coppin led at the half, 32-31.
 
Delaware State regained the lead to start the second half and held a 51-49 lead with 12:23 remaining on a three by Pinky Wiley which prompted a Delaware State timeout.
 
Clayton gave Coppin back the lead with a three and sparked a run with a rebound and outlet pass to Thomas who slammed one home. Back-to-back layups by Tarke and Clayton, followed by a layup by Nendah Tarke (7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) and another dunk by Thomas gave the hosts their largest lead of the game at 62-51 with 8:55 remaining.
 
The Hornets did not go away as they slowly climbed back into the game, taking advantage of several missed free throws by the Eagles. With just under a minute to play, Wiley hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 74-74.
 
On the ensuing possession, Clayton used a screen and found Sarvan who buried a three from NBA range to give Coppin a three-point lead with 28 seconds to go. 
 
At the other end of the floor, Tarke manned up Wiley and recorded a steal before throwing a pass to his brother, Nendah, who was fouled with 19 seconds left. After making 1-of-2 free throws, Coppin forced a Hornet miss and Clayton hit a pair from the stripe to seal the win.
 
Coppin outshot Delaware State, 45.9% to 37.3 for the game but the Hornets kept it close with 13 3-pointers. Coppin had arguably its best rebounding game of the season despite falling in the category, 48-44. The Eagles also made just 17 of 30 free throws.