Box Score BALTIMORE,MD—The South Carolina State Bulldogs last minute rally fell short, as Coppin State held on to  a 77-74 victory Saturday (Feb.7) at the Physical Education Complex.

Freshman guard Edward Stephens tied his career-high with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the loss.  The Bulldogs fall to 9-16 overall, 6-4 in the MEAC, while the Eagles improve to 5-18 overall, 4-6 in the league.

"It was a tale of two halves for us defensively," said SC State head coach Murray Garvin. "We did a poor job of guarding them in the first half by allowing 50% (16-of-29) from the field. I thought we played great defense in the second-half and we got the game down to one possession and wasn't able to finish the deal."

Coppin State led by as many as 12 during intermission and as many as 15, 53-38 at the 17:04 mark in the second-half. The Bulldogs sparked a 20-7 run to pull within one, 59-58 off a jumper by Stephens at the 11:09 mark.

Freshman forward Tashombe Riley put down a monster dunk with 5:15 remaining in regulation to tie the game, 66-66. Free-throws seemed to be the deciding factor down the stretch as Coppin State converted on 19-of-24 (79.2%) from the charity stripe to seal the win.

Coppin State had four players to finish in double figures with guards Taariq Cephas and Sterling Smith finished with a team-high 18 each. Senior forward Arnold Fripp recorded the games only double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Dallas Gary added 13 in the victory.

Junior forward Darryl Palmer chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds, while Riley added 10. Sophomore forward Patrick Kirksey grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and six points in the losing effort.

"We fought hard to take the lead after being down as many as 15, and I have to give Coppin State credit for making plays down the stretch to win," said Garvin.

SC State returns to action on Monday (Feb.9) in a pivotal MEAC doubleheader with Morgan State. Tipoff for the women is 5:30 p.m., with the men following immediately afterwards in a 7:30 p.m. start.
 
For more information on South Carolina State University basketball, please call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060, or visit the official Bulldogs website