Coppin State Uses Free Throw Shooting to Get By Howard
Washington, DC-January 4--Coppin State shot 86 percent from the free throw line in the second half and held off Howard, 83-77 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at Burr Gymnasium.
In a game where the Bison had an advantage in field goal percentage (50 percent) and points in the paint (38-28), the Eagles countered with their ability to get to the free throw line and knock down free throws.
Akeem Ellis, Tony Gallo and Logan Wiens combined to make the difference as the trio teamed to hit on a sizzling 18 of 20 from the charity stripe in the second stanza. For the game, Coppin State (6-8 overall, 1-0 in the MEAC) shot 88 percent.
Howard (4-12 overall, 1-2 in the MEAC) was able to battle the veteran Eagles, who start four seniors, on the scoring of senior guard Glenn Andrews, who led his team with 25 points. But as it has been the case most of the season, the Bison hurt themselves with costly turnovers in the second half, committing 10 miscues that Coppin State converted into 17 points.
Coppin State, which came into the game ranked in the Top 10 in three-points shooting, and the Bison combined to take 50 shots from beyond the arc, but they canceled each other out by shooting only 33 percent.
So it came down to free throw shooting. With the Bison forced to foul and playing catchup, Coppin State was able to put the game away, hitting 9 of their last 10 in the last two minutes.
Ellis led all scorers with 28, while Gallo chipped in with 23, 12 coming in the second half. Wiens and reserve Michael Harper each scored 9 points.
It marked the second straight game that Andrews has tallied 25 for the Bison. He added 7 rebounds and a season-high 6 assists. Freshman guard Simuel Frazier scored 9 of his 11 in the second half and junior guard/forward Dadrian Collins got all 11 of his points in the first 20 minutes.
GAME NOTES: Frazier had another promising game. The freshman guard, who is starting in place of Calvin Thompson who sat out his second straight game due to a groin injury, scored 11 points, dealt out 5 assists and recorded 3 steals.
NEXT UP: The Bison travel to Hampton, VA to take on the Pirates on Saturday at 6 pm. Hampton defeated Howard in the Big Apple Classic last month.
