Jan. 16, 2008

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DURHAM, N.C. - Coppin State University overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to edge first-year NCAA Division I opponent North Carolina Central University, 66-62, in front of 2,411 fans inside NCCU's McLendon-McDougald Gym in Durham, N.C. on Wednesday night.

NCCU senior forward Charles Futrell amassed game-highs of 28 points (20 in the second half) and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and the eighth of his two-year college career, but it was not enough for the host Eagles.

Coppin State senior Antwan Harrison proved to be too much for NCCU to handle as he stormed off the bench for 25 points.

Fellow CSU senior Tywain McKee, who finished with 14 points and four assists, was clutch down the stretch for the visiting Eagles. McKee drained a back-breaking three-pointer with 31 seconds left to give his squad a 63-60 lead, then hit a pair of free throws with 13 ticks on the clock to keep the cushion at three points.

NCCU (1-22) enjoyed a 24-12 advantage after a triple by Philip Branch at 5:24 of the first half, but CSU went on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 26-26. A running jumper at the buzzer by NCCU rookie Michael Glasker gave NCCU a 28-26 lead at intermission.

NCCU expanded its cushion to 45-36 on a jumper by J'Mell Walters with just under 13 minutes left in the contest.

CSU (4-13) responded by scoring 10 unanswered points to take its first lead of the game when freshman center Ceslovas Kucinskas made the first of two free throws to provide the visitors with a 46-45 edge at the 7:49 mark. During the 10-0 stretch, NCCU committed four turnovers and missed the front-end of one-and-one free throw situations twice.

The final seven minutes of the game was a roller coaster ride with four ties and six lead changes. Harrison and McKee combined to score 16 of the final 19 points for Coppin State, leading the visitors to victory.

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THE HERALD-SUN (www.heraldsun.com)

NCCU drops a tough one

By MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun mpotter@heraldsun.com

Jan 17, 2008

DURHAM -- This one is going to hurt for a while.

N.C. Central lost a golden opportunity for its first men's basketball victory in 2008 Wednesday night, dropping a 66-62 decision to visiting Coppin State at McLendon-McDougald Gym.

Antwan Harrison had 25 points and All-MEAC guard Tywain McKee added 14 -- including his team's last five points - as Coppin (4-13) broke an 11-game losing streak in collecting its first road win of the year.

NCCU (1-22) dropped its 17th straight game, and its third straight at home, in its first season in NCAA Division I.

Charles Futrell poured in 28 points, the second highest scoring game of his career, and pulled down 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and eighth of his career. But he didn't get much scoring help, as Bryan Ayala and Tremain Holloway were next with eight points each.

"I don't know how to say it," said NCCU coach Henry Dickerson, whose team has lost by seven points or less in four of its last seven games. "Our guys are working really hard, but they don't know how to make big plays. We got a lead, then they took it, then we got it back, but [Coppin] made the big plays at the end.

"We did some good things, but we just didn't win. I thought that [Futrell] did a good job -- maybe the best game of his career. But [Ayala] wasn't able to get his points tonight and nobody really stepped up to get them."

Julian Conyers' 12 points gave the visitors three players in double figures.

Coppin shot 44 percent from the floor to 41.5 for NCCU, which won the rebound battle 34-34. NCCU committed 16 turnovers to 13 for the visitors.

"It's been rough for us, having just three home games so far," veteran Coppin coach Ron 'Fang' Mitchell said. "We didn't play exceptionally well tonight, but we prevailed. No question that was Harrison's best game of the year. And of course we wanted the ball in McKee's hands at the end."

NCCU led 28-26 at the break on Michael Glasker's driving layup at the horn.

The hosts never trailed in the first 20 minutes, scoring the first six points of the game on 3-pointers from Ayala and Futrell.

NCCU equaled its largest lead of the season when Philip Branch's 3-pointer with 5:24 left in the half made it 24-12.

But Coppin scored the next 12 points, tying the score on a Harrison layup at 1:19.

NCCU led 45-36 after a J'Mell Walters jumper with 12:59 to go. But the visitors scored the next 10 points, ending on a Ceslovas Kucinskas free throw at 7:49 before Futrell hit a pair at 7:17.

The next four baskets changed the lead, with Branch putting NCCU up 51-50 on a jumper at 5:20. Futrell added a three-point play with 4:36 showing for a four-point lead, but the visitors rallied to go up 60-58 on a Harrison layup at 1:34.

"We just have to cut down our turnovers," Futrell said. "That's what let them back into the game after we got a lead. I thought we played a good team game tonight, but we lost. "This hurts, especially with the crowd we had behind us. It really hurts because of all the people (2,411) coming out to support us."

Holloway's strong move in the lane tied the score with 1:14 to go, but he missed the free throw that could have put NCCU ahead.

"We just don't have enough chemistry sometimes," Holloway said. "We've had a lot of hard practices. We just have to find a way to win."

McKee's 3-pointer at 30.4 gave Coppin its biggest lead of the game to that point at 63-60.

Ayala missed two free throws with 17.4 to go, but Futrell's tip-in cut the margin back to a point.

McKee hit two free throws with 15.0 left, and after Ayala missed a 3-pointer Mike Miller rebounded for the visitors with five seconds to go to ice the result.

"This is pretty hard," Ayala said. "My teammates were counting on me to make those shots, and I let them down."

NOTES -- Coppin leads the series between the two teams 2 games to 1. ... The Eagles' next game is on Tuesday night at Utah Valley State. They then return the home-and-home with Coppin on Jan. 30. NCCU's next home game will be on Feb. 16 against Chowan. ... Coppin hosts MEAC foe Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.