Final Box
Coppin/SC State Play-by-Play
ORANGEBURG, SC—The South Carolina State men's basketball team suffered yet another setback dropping a tough 70-62 decision to Coppin State at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center Saturday.

       Right before the start of the men's game both the senior men and women student-athlete from the 2010-11 SC State Track & Field were honored in front of their home crowd. Athletic Director Charlene Johnson, President Dr. George Cooper and First Lady Diane Cooper, and Head Coach Track & Field coach Tyree Price were on hand to show their appreciation to the student-athletes and their families.

       With the loss, SC State falls to 6-18 overall, 2-9 in the MEAC, while Coppin State improves to 12-11 overall, 7-4 in the league.

       Coppin State had four players in double-figures with Akeem Ellis leading with way with 17 points and six rebounds, Tony Gallo tossed in 15, while Vince Goldsberry added 12 in the victory.        
       Ceslovas Kucinskas chipped in 10 and Antonio Williams grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Eagles.

       SC State was led by senior guard/forward Darnell Porter with 16 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Brandon Riley tossed in 11 in the loss.

       “They were key points in the game where we just took bad shots,” stated SC State head coach Tim Carter. “Bottom line when you get the ball into the post you have to finish strong or else it leads to an end results like tonight.”

       The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick six point lead, 21-15 off a layup by Darnell Porter at the 8:14 mark. Coppin State rallied back to close the gap to within one, 33-32 off an Antonio Williams layup with 1:40 left in the first-half. A tip-in by junior forward Joe Ikhinmwin and senior center Rio Pitt put SC State ahead five, 37-32 to close out the first-half.

       SC State shot 50% from behind the 3-point line in the first-half shooting 8-of-16 on the night.

       A pair of free-throws by junior forward Presano Bell in the second-half gave SC State its biggest lead of the night seven, 43-36 at the 17:01 mark. A 3-pointer by Akeem Ellis cut the lead to one, 50-51 with 8:43 left in the game. Another late 3-pointer by Michael Harper with 0:55 seconds left in the contest gave the Eagles a four point lead, 60-64.

       Free-throws seemed to be the deciding factor down the stretch as Coppin State shot 75% from the charity stripe going 15-of-20 to seal the 70-62 victory for the Eagles.

       Carter stated, “Give Coppin State credit they executed the ball and made some good plays down the stretch to secure the victory.”

        SC State will return to action on Monday when they take on defending MEAC Champion Morgan State in an exciting doubleheader. Tip-off for the women's game is 5:30 p.m. with the men following.

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