Coppin State Eagles advance to MEAC Championship Game

Photo: Rashida Suber will be playing in her third MEAC Tournament Championship game in four years.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Coppin State seniors Shalamar Oakley and Rashida Suber combined to score 33 points and the Eagles used a stifling defensive effort to advance to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game with a 63-56 victory over Delaware State.

The Eagles will meet regular-season champion North Carolina A&T at 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 15) with the winner gaining the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Oakley scored 17 points and Suber added 16 as the Eagles advanced to the MEAC Tournament Championship game for the third time in four years.

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Hampton Pirates lose in OT to Coppin State

Photo: Senior guard Rashad West had a monster scoring game with 27 points and 3 assists in loss to Coppin State Eagles to closeout his MEAC career.

Hampton squanders a 17-point lead and drops a heartbreaking MEAC tournament quarterfinal.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Coppin State ousted No. 2 seed Hampton University from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, 75-74 in overtime Wednesday in a quarterfinal at the RBC Center.

Hampton dominated the first half and led by 15 points at halftime, but the Pirates allowed the Eagles to chip away at their lead. It was down to single digits midway through the second half and soon gone.

There was life for Hampton (17-12) late, but eventually the inspired seventh seed pulled this one out.

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Coppin State Eagles knocks out Howard Bison

Photo: Coppin State senior guard Tywain McKee.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Senior guard Tywain McKee scored 18 points and nailed a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to lead Coppin State to a 55-54 victory over Howard in the opening round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday at the RBC Center.

With the Eagles clinging to a 53-51 lead, McKee hit two free throws to seal the victory for Coppin State.

"I just had to make the free throws," McKee, who leads the MEAC in free throw shooting percentage, said.

Curtis White hit a three-pointer at the buzzer bringing the final score to 55-54.

The Eagles (13-20) will advance to the quarterfinals where they will face second-seeded Hampton at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday (March 12).

Antwan Harrison added 12 points for Coppin State, which has won nine of its last 10 games.

"Howard never quit," said head coach Ron Mitchell. "We didn't play as aggresively tonight as we have down the stretch, but we did enough to win. We will have to do a better job against Hampton."

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Coppin State Snaps Losing Streak with Sweep of North Carolina Central

BALTIMORE – Behind a gutty pitching performance from Jeremiah Cothiere, the Coppin State Eagles baseball team beat North Carolina Central, 11-7, in game one of a double header sweep on Tuesday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium. The win snapped a 55-game losing streak for the Eagles, the longest losing streak in Division I baseball history.

The Eagles won game two, 7-6, on a walk off wild pitch with the bases loaded to improve their record to 2-10 on the season while North Carolina Central fell to 1-9.

In the opener, Cothiere, a junior from Lake Worth, Fla, started shaky allowing six runs over the first two innings, only to settle in and keep NCCU off the scoreboard over the next three frames.

Trailing 4-0 after the top of the first, the Eagles answered with six runs of their own off NCCU starter David Scott. Brandon Alexander led off the inning with a walk, stole second and came around to score on Jerry Matos’ double to left field. After a pop out brought the first out of the inning, Matos stole third, and then scored on a single by Patrick Regalado. After back to back errors allowed Carlos Russell and Angel Recci to reach base, Roman Batista singled to right field scoring Regalado, with Russell and Recci both coming around to score on a bad throw from the outfield to give the Eagles a 6-4 lead.

“I finally got the monkey off my back,” said head coach Harvey Lee after the game. “The kids deserve this. There have been a few games where calls didn’t go our way, but I wanted them to see they really are a good team.”

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Morgan Bears too hot to handle by Coppin

Photo: Morgan State Bears, with a 20-9 record and first MEAC Basketball Championship (regular season) can finally show their faces in Division I with pride.

Coppin puts up a fight, but Morgan stays unbeaten at home

With the school's first regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament locked up, Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman could have been forgiven if he wanted to give his starters a breather last night. But when the opponent is Coppin State, and with city bragging rights on the line, the Forestville native knew that taking this game lightly was not an option.

Despite being without leading scorer Jamar Smith (foot injury), the Bears took the Eagles' best shots and still came away with a hard-fought 68-64 victory on Senior Night before an announced 4,500 last night at Hill Field House.

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Never under-estimate at team coached by ole school Fang Mitchell. Just throw out the records and get ready to do battle, as his teams will scratch and claw their way into the game and beat you if you make mistakes. Whoever draws Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament is in for a dog fight (sorry, Vick) to get to the next round.

This is going to be a great MEAC Tournament!

Coppin State Holds Off Hampton for Fifth-Straight Win

Photo: Coppin State's #34, Whitney Cunningham scored 18 points and collected 11 rebounds in the victory over Hampton. The 6-3 junior center is from Baltimore, MD/Western H.S.

BALTIMORE -- Whitney Cunningham had 18 points and 11 rebounds and scored the go-ahead basket with 1:07 to play and Coppin State University went on to a 63-60 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Hampton University on Saturday in the Coppin Center.

Cunningham, who finished the game 8-of-12 from the floor, scored inside on a feed from Shalamar Oakley and was fouled on the play. The ensuing free throw gave the Eagles a 61-60 lead with 1:07 left.

Shalamar Oakley led Coppin State (16-11, 10-3 MEAC) with 19 points and Rashida Suber added 11 points. Hampton (14-11, 7-5 MEAC) was led by Butler who scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

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Promise still has Williams at Coppin State

Photo: Coppin State University Coach Harvey Lee had some painful days last season going 0-44 with only 11 players. Better days are ahead for the Eagles in 2008 with a full roster of talented players.

No games have been played yet, but life as a Coppin State baseball player is better for Harry Williams (Potomac '06) this season than it ever was last season. It's easy to see why. All the sophomore first baseman has to do is scan the field.

There are players catching fly balls in the outfield, third basemen taking grounders and pitchers working out on the mound. Last season, Williams did all those things, filling in at all but two positions for a Coppin State team that fielded 11 total players and finished the season 0-44.

Williams could have bolted the program after 2007, but second-year coach Harvey Lee made a promise to Williams. If Williams stayed, Lee said he would not only find more players to field a competitive team. That team would be built around Williams. "Coach Lee guaranteed that we would have a team and it would be a lot better," said Williams, who hit a team-high .339 last season. "When he said that, I believed every word he said about it. He kept his word."

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The Coppin State baseball home opening weekend has been postponed due to snow and rain in the Baltimore area and instead the Eagles will travel to Hofstra for their season opener. The Eagles were originally scheduled to host the Pride for single games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Hofstra and Coppin State, pending weather in the Hempstead area, will play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at noon.

THE GOOD FIGHT

Photo: Tywain Mckee, 6-2 senior point guard/shooting guard, Philadelphia, PA/Bartram H.S., major: Criminal Justice.

Forgotten and ignored, Tywain McKee was an unlikely college hoops prospect. Then a basketball legend tapped him on the shoulder.

There are some kids you just want to protect. It would be great to say that about all of them, but the truth is some wear trouble like a too-big pair of jeans, uncomfortable unless they're pretty much engulfed by it. Tywain McKee, back when he was a hunch-shouldered, woolly haired teenager, could have been one of those kids.

"He was swallowed up by strife, living in a hotbed of violence," says former Temple coach John Chaney, who recruited McKee as a Philly high school senior four years ago. Chaney discovered McKee when the Bartram High guard dropped 13 fourth-quarter points in a city-league semis loss to Philly power Simon Gratz. But McKee, who battled a stutter and had always felt uncomfortable in school, fell well short of Temple's academic requirements.

Still, the Hall of Fame coach liked the fight he saw in McKee. He liked that the kid had learned the game from his mom. He liked that McKee kept playing, even after his mother's drug abuse meant she was around less and less. And he liked that McKee didn't lose focus, even while his younger brother, Robert, was skipping school. Chaney wanted to see McKee play at the next level, for him or someone else. "If no one puts a kid like that in a position to succeed, his self-esteem keeps dropping," Chaney says. "I called Fang Mitchell because I knew he would be good for Tywain."

Ron "Fang" Mitchell has spent 21 seasons at Baltimore's Coppin State University, one of 103 historically black colleges and universities in the U.S.

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Tip-In Extends Coppin State Win Streak at FAMU

Photo: CSU 6-3 small forward Antwan Harrison made the game winner on a tip-in. The senior is from Beltsville, MD/Gonzaga College H.S. and is majoring in Sports Management.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Senior Antwan Harrison scored on a tip-in with four seconds remaining lifting Coppin State to a 69-68 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Florida A&M on Monday in Gaither Gymnasium and extending the Eagles winning streak to five straight.

Harrison, who scored 12 points, followed up a miss by Julian Conyers with the game-winning basket giving Coppin State its longest winning streak since the 2004-05 season.

Tywain McKee sealed the victory for the Eagles with a steal on Florida A&M's final possession.

Coppin State (9-19, 4-8 MEAC) shot 63.6 percent from the floor in the second half and a season-high 51.7 percent for the game. Florida A&M (9-16, 5-7 MEAC) was led by Leslie Robinson who scored a game-high 24 points.

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Lady Eagles Soar Over Bethune Cookman Wildcats, 68-45

Photo: Whitney Cunningham scored 10 points to help defeat BCU. The 6-3 junior center is from Western H.S., Baltimore, MD and is majoring in Psycology.


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Freshman Arielle Townes led five players in double figures with a career-high 12 points and Coppin State defeated Bethune-Cookman 68-45 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play on Saturday in the Ocean Center.

Townes, from Joppatowne, Maryland finished the game 4-of-5 from the floor including making both of her three-point attempts. The Eagles also received 11 points from Rashida Suber and 10 points each from Whitney Cunningham, Shalamar Oakley and Sesalie Johnson.

Coppin State (14-11, 8-3 MEAC), which won for the eighth time in its last nine games, shot a school-record 93.3 percent from the foul line by making 14 of 15 attempts.

The Eagles limited Bethune-Cookman (4-19, 1-10 MEAC) to 20.6 percent shooting in the second half and 24.6 percent overall.

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Coppin State tops struggling WSSU Rams

Photo: Darius Floyd, 6-1/185 guard from Gastonia, NC, Ashbrook H.S., was Rams leading scorer with 12 points.

Rams lose 62-44, are 0-9 away from home

BALTIMORE - Winston-Salem State’s road losing streak continued last night in a 62-44 loss to Coppin State at the Coppin Center. The Rams (8-13) are 0-9 this season on the road and have lost 14 in a row on the road during the past two seasons. Poor shooting hurt the Rams last night as they fell behind 11-2 in the early going. They shot 26 percent from the field.

Having one of the worst shooting nights of his career for the Rams was Jamal Durham, who was 0 for 12 from the field. He had 13 rebounds.

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Harrison, Coppin State defeat S.C. State

Antwan Harrison scored 19 points and Tywain McKee and Vince Goldsberry each had 16 to lead Coppin State past visiting South Carolina State, 79-67, yesterday. Coppin State University (6-19, 2-8 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) never trailed against South Carolina State (8-15, 4-5) and has won two straight conference games after losing eight straight to start the season. The Bulldogs, who are third in the league in scoring, had trouble adjusting to Coppin State's high-pressure defense and committed 17 turnovers.

Jason Flagler had 19 points, Robert Baker had 15 and Julius Carter added 11 points for South Carolina State.

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UMES Lady Hawks soars over Coppin State Lady Eagles

BALTIMORE, MD -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team has extended its winning streak against MEAC opponents as they defeated Coppin State 69-62 on Monday night. For Coppin State, Shalamar Oakley had 25 points with teammate Rashida Suber adding 17 points.

The Hawks were led by both April McBride and Casey Morton, who each tallied 18 points. McBride, the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, had a double-double, adding 16 rebounds to her 18 points. Tiffany Reid had another good performance as the reigning MEAC Defensive Player of the Week had 15 points and three steals. Brittany Adkins was the fourth Hawk in double digits with 13 points and 13 rebounds. This was the fifth straight win for the Lady Hawks.

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Gritty DSU Hornets women fall short at end to Coppin State

Delaware State misses two potential tying 3-pointers in final 12 seconds.

The Hornets matched the grit of their opponent for much of the way, but still came up short in a 60-57 loss at the Coppin Center. "It's another lesson learned," Delaware State coach Ed Davis said. "Coppin State is still the defending champion. It was another tough MEAC game. "And we didn't quit."

Coppin State (11-10, 6-2) successfully defended two potential tying shots by DSU over the final 12 seconds to run its winning streak against the Hornets to five games. The Eagles also won their sixth straight overall. Rocky Collier led the Hornets (9-11, 4-2) with 16 points. Thea Littlepage had four points and 10 rebounds.

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Delaware State beats Coppin State, looks ahead to Morgan State

BALTIMORE -- Despite starting a new lineup on Saturday, it wasn't a change in chemistry that Delaware State needed. Instead, it was the same old thing -- the lack of defense -- that nearly cost the Hornets. While the revamped starting five showed it might yield positive results down the road, DSU learned it is defense it needs most after nearly surrendering a 19-point lead in the second half of a 56-48 men's basketball victory over Coppin State at the Coppin Center.

The Hornets' Mid-Eastern win gives DSU (8-11, 5-2) momentum for Monday's game at conference leader Morgan State (7-1 MEAC).

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Delaware State expects Coppin State's best shot

Photo: DSU senior Roy Bright leads the MEAC in scoring with 18.9 ppg. The 6-6/225 all-star is from Durham, NC (Garden City CC), (Mt. Zion Christian Academy).

Hornets approach conference's last-place, first-place teams equally.

DOVER -- Who's more dangerous, last-place Coppin State or first-place Morgan State? For the Delaware State men's basketball team, that answer comes over the next three days with a game at each Baltimore school.

The Hornets begin the series today at 4 p.m. at Coppin State, which has a 4-18 record, 0-7 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. DSU plays Monday night at Morgan State (11-8, 6-1), off to its best start in 29 years. "I think we all have the mindset that we can't lose from here out," DSU junior forward Donald Johnson said. "We have to play both teams like they're No. 1 in our conference."

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Coppin State dumps Hampton Lady Pirates

Photo: 5-6 Senior point guard Shalamar Oakley scored 24 points in the upset win over Hampton. The Camden, NJ star is from Woodrow Wilson H.S. and is majoring in Criminal Justice .

HAMPTON, Va. -- Seniors Shalamar Oakley and Rashida Suber combined for 42 points leading Coppin State to a 64-54 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Hampton on Saturday and handing the Pirates their first conference loss of the season.
The Lady Pirates (10-7, 4-1 MEAC), trailing 33-31 at intermission, shot a miserable 15.6 percent in the second half (5-for-32) and were never in it after Coppin State (9-10, 4-2) opened the second half with a 10-3 run. Oakley scored six points during the run.

Oakley was 9-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line to lead the Eagles with 24 points, while Suber added 18 points. Whitney Cunningham added seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Rachel Butler scored 15 points to lead Hampton. Artavia Burns and reserve Roneisha Corbitt added 12 points apiece.

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Coppin State Lady Eagles set records against FAMU Lady Rattlers

Photo: 5-8 senior shooting guard Rashida Suber had a birthday blowout with a career 33 points over the Lady Rattlers. She is from Reading H.S., Reading, PA.

BALTIMORE -- Seniors Rashida Suber and Shalamar Oakley combined to score 58 points and Coppin State set a school record for shooting percentage as the Eagles defeated Florida A&M 90-62 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game on Monday in the Coppin Center.

Suber celebrated her birthday by pouring in a career-high 33 points, which eclipsed her previous best of 32 set last season against Florida A&M. Suber finished the game 12-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point territory and came up two points shy of tying the Coppin Center record of 35 points held by Kiesha Brooks.

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The Lady Rattlers simply left their defense in Tallahassee for this East Coast trip. That 9-0 Lady Rattlers start has turned into a 9-7, 1-4 MEAC drop in the standings. What is wrong with our Rattlers?

Florida A&M Downs Coppin State 63-48

Photo: Junior guard Lamar Twitty, 6-4/200 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL Boyd Anderson HS led Rattlers in scoring with 16 points over Coppin State University.

BALTIMORE -- Lamar Twitty scored 16 points leading Florida A&M to a 63-48 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Coppin State on Monday in the Coppin Center.
Florida A&M (6-11, 2-3 MEAC) shot 51.1 percent from the floor, while Coppin State was limited to 28.3 percent shooting.

Coppin State (4-15, 0-5 MEAC) lost in the Coppin Center to Florida A&M for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Akini Akini and Jon Mason each added 11 points for Florida A&M.

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