BALTIMORE, Md. – In the first weekend of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play, the North Carolina Central University men's basketball team fell short 63-61 to Coppin State University at the Physical Education Complex on Saturday evening.
Junior guard Po'Boigh King led all scorers with 18 points and was the only Eagle in double figures.
Coppin State's victory is the first against NC Central since the 2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament semifinals.
NCCU (7-11, 0-1 MEAC) had a deficit early but took its first lead up 13-12 after a free throw from senior wing and Baltimore native Timmy Adedire with 9:19 remaining before the half.
After three lead changes and three ties, the NCCU Eagles went into halftime up 30-23. NC Central shot 42.3 percent in the first 20 minutes and held Coppin State to 29.2 percent from the field.
CSU (2-13, 1-0 MEAC) regained the lead in the second half with under 15 minutes to go with free throws from Peter Oduro.
Both Eagle squads traded buckets and tied the game again at 38 apiece with 13:07 remaining.
Shortly after, Khali Horton's jumper put Coppin State up for good leaving NCCU to battle back from behind keeping the game within single digits.
NC Central had a chance to tie or win the game in regulation after a steal from junior guard Dionte Johnson with 26 seconds remaining.
Head coach LeVelle Moton called a timeout to draw up a play as redshirt senior Floyd Rideau Jr. missed a jumper and Johnson was unable to get the putback up in time as the game went final.
Julius Ellerbe III and Camren Sparrow combined for 30 points for Coppin State.
The Maroon and Gray finished with a slightly better field goal percentage of 43.4 percent compared to CSU's 42.6 percent. The difference was three-point shooting as NCCU went 1-of-15 from beyond the arc and Coppin State was 9-of-18.
NC Central led in rebounding (31-29), bench points (29-6) and paint points (36-18).
The Eagles remain in Baltimore to complete their road trip facing Morgan State University on Monday, Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hill Field House. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
