NCAA News Wire
Eastern Michigan 87, Coppin State 64
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Senior forward Karrington Ward scored 23 points and blocked six shots, leading Eastern Michigan to an 87-64 victory over Coppin State on Tuesday evening at Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Sophomore guard Raven Lee came off the bench to post 21 points, six rebounds, six steals and five assists for Eastern Michigan (10-2), which remained unbeaten at home.
Junior guard Sterling Smith scored 14 points to lead Coppin State (1-11), which has lost seven in a row. Sophomore guard Christian Kessee and senior forward Arnold Fripp had 13 points apiece.
Coppin State held an 8-4 lead five minutes into the game and extended its lead to 18-11 on a 3-pointer by Kessee with 11:20 to play in the opening period. That’s when Eastern Michigan rallied to take control.
Lee made a 3-pointer to spark a 19-0 run that put Eastern Michigan up 30-18 with 3:56 to go. Coppin State went scoreless for nine minutes, going 0-for-9 from the field with six turnovers during that stretch.
Eastern Michigan led 34-24 at the break and continued to build on its lead early in the second half. Lee scored to put Eastern Michigan up 46-30 lead with 14:46 to go. A layup by Ward gave Eastern Michigan a 55-35 lead with 10:40 remaining.
Coppin State staged an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 13 on a 3-pointer by senior guard Daquan Brickhouse with 6:53 to play. A free throw by freshman forward Blake Simpson cut the deficit to 11 with 4:35 to go, but Eastern Michigan scored the next 10 points to fend off the rally.
