Saturday, February 23
Baltimore, Md.
4:00 p.m.
Hampton University
55
at
72
Coppin State
Pilgrim led the Pirates with 19 points and 12 rebounds. (Photo by Mark Sutton)
PIRATES SUFFER TOUGH LOSS ON THE ROAD TO COPPIN STATE, 77-55
2.24.08 | Men's Basketball
BALTIMORE, Md. – Sophomore forward Matthew Pilgrim’s first double-double of the season wasn’t enough for Hampton University as the Pirates suffered a 77-55 loss to the Eagles of Coppin State University here on Saturday.
Pilgrim registered team highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Pirates, who trailed 28-19 at halftime before falling to 15-10 overall and 8-4 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Coppin State, meanwhile, improved to 10-19 on the season, 5-8 in MEAC play. HU’s loss keeps the Pirates two-and-a-half games behind Morgan State University, the team’s Monday night opponent.
“It was a hard fought game and Coppin State came ready to play,” said HU head coach Kevin Nickelberry. “When you are without Rashad West and Mike Freeman, it makes a huge difference in a game. West started the game but he could not go anymore because he was ill, and Freeman is still injured, so what can you do?”
Hampton started to game on a 5-0 run, but the Eagles turned around and went on a 15-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the contest. Coppin State never looked back.
The Eagles held the Pirates to a season low 19 points in the first half of play while shooting 36 percent (11-of-42) from the floor in the first half. Coppin State shot only 26 percent (11-of-42) from the field and 28 percent (4-of-14) from the field.
The Pirates shot a mere 32 percent (20-of-61) from the field on the night and Coppin State shot 35 percent (25-of-70) from the floor as they recorded a 72-55 victory over the Pirates.
“I thought that in the second half we adjusted pretty well and got on the boards and grabbed more rebounds than they did,” said Nickelberry. “We were able to get 27 offensive rebounds and score 14 second chance points, but it wasn’t enough because we had 26 turnovers and were only 14-of-34 from the free throw line, We just cannot win ball games like that.”
The Pirates will now face Morgan State on Monday, February 25, with tipoff time slated for 8 p.m. The Bears are currently in first place in the MEAC with a record of 11-2 while the Pirates’ 8-4 record is good enough for fourth place. This will be the second match-up between the two teams this season with the Bears coming out on top of the first contest back on January 28.
For more information on the Pirates, go to www.hamptonpirates.com or contact the HU Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5811.
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