Jan. 30, 2008
Final Stats
THE HERALD-SUN (www.HeraldSun.com)
Eagles' 18-game losing streak ends at Coppin State
By MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun (mpotter@heraldsun.com)
Jan 31, 2008
BALTIMORE -- The misery is over.
Philip Branch had a career-high 21 points and Bryan Ayala also hit 21 -- including 12-for-14 from the free-throw line -- as N.C. Central snapped its 18-game losing streak with a 67-65 victory over Coppin State in men's basketball on Wednesday night at the Coppin Center.
The win, NCCU's first road victory as a member of NCAA Division I, improved Henry Dickerson's team to 2-23. Coppin, which has lost all four of its home games this season, fell to 4-18.
The game was a rematch of a contest in Durham two weeks ago, in which visiting Coppin State recovered from a nine-point second-half deficit to win 66-62 and break its 11-game losing streak.
"That was a great win, especially because it was on the road," Dickerson said. "We were going against a Division I team with a coach [Ron 'Fang' Mitchell] who can flat coach. We're going to be on ESPN, and our score is finally going to be in yellow.
"We had an 11-point lead and then they came back, but this time we held our composure and made our free throws."
Charles Futrell added 17 points, all but two of them in the first half, to give NCCU a three-pronged scoring attack in the victory.
Tywain McKee led Coppin with 19 points, while Robert Pressey added 14 and Mike Miller 12.
NCCU shot 46.7 percent from the floor to 42.6 for the hosts and won the rebound battle 32-30. NCCU turned the ball over 22 times to 18 for Coppin.
NCCU led 27-25 at halftime on Branch's 3-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer. There were six lead changes and five ties in the opening 20 minutes, and 10 ties and 10 lead changes overall.
"We definitely wanted Philip to shoot more," Dickerson said of Branch, who was 5-for-9 from 3-point range and 8-for-14 from the floor. "We've been wanting him to be our third scorer."
Futrell put NCCU ahead 31-30 on a short jumper with 18:35 to play, but the hosts responded with an 8-0 run to take a 38-31 lead on an Antwan Harrison layup with 14:21 showing.
That prompted Dickerson to call a timeout, and NCCU responded with an 11-0 run ending on a Branch 3-pointer that made it 41-38 with 11:38 to go.
"We've been thinking 'payback, payback' ever since we lost to them," said Branch, who has had minor injuries to both feet that have slowed him for much of the season. "I couldn't even sleep last night thinking about it."
NCCU continued its run and led by 11 points on three occasions in the second half, the last time at 55-44 on an Ayala jumper with 4:11 left.
But the hosts came back with a 13-2 spree, tying it at 57-57 on Miller's 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining.
Branch's 3-pointer with 1:55 left put NCCU up 60-57, but Miller tied it again on a three-point play at 1:35. Ayala hit two free throws at 1:28 to get the lead back, but McKee answered with two of his own with 1:03 remaining.
Tremain Holloway's layup from Futrell with 35 seconds to go gave the Eagles the lead for good. Futrell then came up with a steal, with Ayala hitting two more free throws with 22.3 showing for a 66-62 lead.
"This one should really get us over the hump," said Futrell, sporting two stitches at the top of his nose from the play in the first minute of the game on which he drew his second foul. "Now we should be ready to win our last five games.
"Philip was really playing big tonight, and it was great to see B.A. hitting all those free throws."
Coppin State missed two shots to cut into the lead, and Ayala was fouled with six seconds to play. He hit the first of two free throws for a five-point lead, making McKee's 3-pointer at the buzzer moot.
"I've just been trying to keep focus at the free-throw line," Ayala said. "I know there's nothing wrong with my technique. I just had to make sure that when I went to the line I wasn't thinking about anything but those free throws, no matter how much noise the crowd made.
"Stix [Futrell] had a big second half, and Philip really made a difference. They were keying on Stix and me, and every time they did I just kicked it out to Philip and he usually knocked down the shot."
NOTES -- The all-time series is tied 2-2. ... NCCU's next three games are at home, but only after a 2 ½-week break. Division II Chowan will visit McLendon-McDougald Gym on Feb. 16. ... The next game for Coppin is at home Saturday against Delaware State, coached by former NCCU mentor Greg Jackson. As CSU does not sponsor football, it will be the school's homecoming game.
