TOWSON, Md. — Koby Thomas notched a double-double with 23 points along with ten rebounds but poor foul shooting plagued Coppin State in a 78-73 loss at Towson on Saturday at SECU Arena.
A senior from Philadelphia, Pa., Thomas made 8-of-14 field goals with a 3-pointer and six free throws to record a season-high in points and rebounds. Thomas, who was one of four Eagles who scored in double figures, also dished out four assists.
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Also contributing on the offensive end was Kenan Sarvan with a season-high 16 points on four 3-pointers, Kyle Cardaci added 14 points with an identical four triples, and Anthony Tarke chipped in with 12 points. Isaiah Gross also drained a pair from distance to finish with six points. Cardaci was also credited with a career-high five assists.
Towson (1-4) narrowly outshot Coppin on the day, 45.7% to 40.6% but the Tigers held a 53-30 advantage on the glass and made 9-of-11 free throws. The Eagles also made nine free throws but attempted 20 shots from the charity stripe to finish at a 45 percent clip.
Coppin (1-8) got out of the gate strong and used an 11-0 run early in the first half to take a 20-7 lead with 11:42 remaining in the period. The Eagles’ run started with back-to-back 3-pointers by Sarvan and following a layup by Cardaci off a pass from Kaelon Harkema, Gross hit another triple to give CSU its largest advantage of the day.
The Tigers responded with ten-straight points of their own until jumpers by Dwaine Jones, Jr., and Tarke increased the lead back to 24-17. Both teams exchanged blows for the remainder of the stanza, but Towson took its first lead since the opening minute of the game at the break, 34-33.
Back-to-back dunks by Tarke and Thomas, and another layup by Thomas, started the second half for CSU. Towson answered with a jumper but Cardaci and Sarvan hit a pair of shots from deep giving Coppin back the 45-38 advantage at the 16:24 mark.
TU rallied back once again, but after a jumper by Tarke put the Eagles back on top, 56-54 with 9:17 remaining, the Tigers scored eight-straight points and never looked back. The hosts extended their lead to as many as 71-58 at the 3:41 mark.
CSU made a late run, cutting the deficit to as little as 77-73 with ten ticks to go, but could not get any closer.
Rider hosts the Eagles on Tuesday, December 29 at 7 pm in Coppin’s final non-conference tilt of the season. The Eagles open MEAC play on January 2-3 when the host Delaware State on back-to-back days at 3 pm.
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