ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Tyree Corbett scored a double-double as the Coppin State ended a nine-game losing streak by defeating South Carolina State 74-65 inside the Smith-Hammond-Middleton-Center.
Coppin (2-14, 1-0 MEAC) now leads the all-time series 11-8 over the Bulldogs (7-9, 0-1 MEAC).
Corbett led all scorers finishing with his seventh double-double of the season and tying his season-high with 23 points and new season-high 22 rebounds. He is also the first CSU player to go for 20-20 this century. Kyle Cardaci and Daniel Titus each tallied 14 points, while Nendah Tarke added 13.
Titus got the ball rolling, opening the game with a three, followed by a Corbett trey to give the Eagles an early 6-0 lead. The Bulldogs pulled within one before Titus hit another three with 16:39 remaining in the half.
Coppin then went on a 9-2 scoring run to lead 25-7 with 8:46 left to go in the first half. The Bulldogs scored a few baskets to get within ten with 4:02 left but, Coppin maintained its lead to go into halftime with an 11-point lead.
Cardaci kept the hot-shooting momentum opening the second half with another three, and a lay-up by Corbett gave Coppin a 45-31 lead with 18:51 left in the game. With 14:44 left, the Eagles saw one of their largest leads of the night, leading by 19.
The Bulldogs cut into the lead, trailing 53-40 after Cameron Jones hit a three with 12:10 remaining. The Eagles made sure to keep a 10-point margin the rest of the half but with the clock showing 3:02 the Bulldogs managed to get within five trailing 67-61.
Corbett and Cardaci went to work down the stretch helping the Eagles to secure the victory, including a free-throw by Corbett with 28 seconds to go.
Courtesy: MEAC