Saturday, January 26
Hampton, Va.
6:00 p.m.
Hampton University
56
vs
54
Coppin State
Freeman led the Pirates with 19 points and nine rebounds on the night. (Photo by Mark Sutton)
HAMPTON DOWNS COPPIN STATE, 56-54, GOES TO 5-0 IN THE MEAC
1.26.08 | Men's Basketball
HAMPTON, Va. – In a game that was perhaps closer than most people had expected, the Coppin State University Eagles took favored Hampton University to the limit but couldn’t outgun the homestanding team as the Pirates registered a 56-54 victory here on Saturday to stay undefeated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Hampton, 11-6 overall and 5-0 in the MEAC, led 28-27 at halftime but found it hard to pull away from the visiting Eagles, who fell to 4-16 on the season, 0-6 in conference play. A crowd of 4,311 fans were in attendance.
“They (Coppin State) didn’t play like an 0-5 team. They played with emotion and like they wanted to knock us off,’ said HU head coach Kevin Nickelberry. “We finally did respond.
“We’re rushing our shots,” added Nickelberry. “But at the end of the day, our guys found a way to get the win. By two points or 10, a win is a win.”
In a first half that saw four ties and five lead changes, the Pirates led by as many as five points midway through the half when Matt Pilgrim connected on a three-pointer, giving the Pirates a lead of 18-13 with 10:22 left before the break. Over the next four minutes, however, the CSU Eagles outscored Hampton 9-to-2, taking a brief lead at 22-20 at the 6:38 mark.
Following several lead changes, Brian Chesnut hit one-of-two free throws at the :08 mark, lifting the Pirates to a 28-27 halftime lead.
In the second half, the HU Pirates led the entire half but their biggest lead was only five points, a margin it held with just 11 seconds to play when West connected on the second of two free throw tries, giving HU a 56-51 lead.
Seemingly with the game in hand, the Eagles still didn’t give up, making for a dramatic conclusion to the game.
Following West’s free throw, Vince Goldsberry hit a jumper to cut Hampton’s lead to three points at 56-53 with :06 on the clock. Then, following a HU turnover and foul, Coppin State’s Antwan Harrison hit the first of two free throw tries to narrow its deficit to 56-54, but Hampton’s Theo Smalling grabbed the rebound following Harrison’s second attempt, which was missed. Time then expired.
Freeman and West were the scoring leaders for the Pirates in their victory, netting 19 and 10 points, respectively. Freeman was the game’s leader in rebounding, grabbing nine boards on the night.
Coppin State’s lone double-figure scorer was Tywain McKee, who scored 15 points on the night.
Hampton survived its closest game in league play this season, despite a less-than-impressive shooting night. The Pirates hit just 36 percent of their shots from the field and 50 percent from the free throw line. Hampton connected on just 15 of 30 tries from the free throw line.
Coppin State hit 40.4 percent of its shots from the field and 76.9 percent of its shots from the charity stripe.
The Pirates will go on to host the Morgan State University Bears in another crucial MEAC game on Monday night. Tipoff of HU’s “Take-A-Kid-to-the-Game Day” contest is slated for 8 p.m., following a 6 p.m. game between the school’s women’s teams.
Nickelberry said Monday’s game should be a barn-burner.
“That’s going to be a championship title fight,” said Nickelberry. “Both teams think they have a chance to be champions in this league. It’s one of those games you circle on your calendar. It’s a game that gives us a chance to play at home against a very good team at home.”
For more information on HU sports, contact the HU Sports Information Office at 757-727-5757 or log on to the school’s web page at www.hamptonpirates.com.
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