Towson University Athletics

Scoreboard

Men's Basketball 12.15.2011

Early Lead Evaporates as Tigers Fall at Coppin State

TOWSON, Md. – Towson held Coppin State to just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, but turnovers and poor free throw shooting once again hurt the Tigers in a 71-57 loss to the Eagles Wednesday evening.

The win for Coppin State (4-5), which remains undefeated at home this season, is the first against the Tigers since 1993. The Eagles, which entered the game ranked 13th in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (9.1), drilled 12 against the Tigers.

Towson (0-10) tied a season-high by making eight from beyond the arc, but couldn't overcome 21 turnovers and nine of 24 shooting from the foul line (37.5 percent).

Sophomore Marcus Damas led the Tigers with 16 points and shot 4-for-5 from three-point range. Senior Robert Nwankwo chipped in 15 points while shooting 6-for-8 from the field. Freshman Kris Walden dished out a season-high eight assists, but also turned the ball over nine times.

Tony Gallo led Coppin State with a career-high 27 points, including 17 in the second half. The senior, who has led the Eagles in scoring in eight of nine games this season, was 6-for-15 from beyond the arc and 7-for-9 at the charity stripe. Coppin State committed just nine turnovers and made 16 of 19 second half free throws.

Towson held the Eagles scoreless for the first 4:19 of the game and raced out to an early 16-7 lead. The nine-point advantage was the Tigers' biggest lead of the season. The advantage evaporated quickly as Coppin State tallied the next eight points en route to closing the half on a 21-5 run. The Eagles led 28-21 at the intermission.

Coppin State saw its lead grow to 15 just three minutes into the second half, but the young Tiger squad did not go away. Consecutive triples from Damas ignited a 16-4 Towson spurt that was capped by a Deon Jones traditional three-point play. Trailing 44-41 with less than nine minutes remaining, Gallo made a crucial three-pointer and teammate Akeem Ellis followed with another to stake the Eagles to a nine-point advantage.

Still trailing by nine moments later, sophomore Erique Gumbs made a jumper and Damas converted a breakaway dunk to bring the Tigers to within 52-47 with 6:27 remaining. They would get no closer though as Gallo made four consecutive free throws and freshman Taariq Cephas hit a three to get the Eagle lead back to double digits for good.

Towson will not play again for six days. The Tigers host consecutive home games before Christmas, starting with a 7 p.m. tilt against Manhattan College on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

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