Norfolk St. Survives A Coppin St. Comeback 73-68

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Malcolm Hawkins, Pendarvis Williams and Brandon Goode scored 15 points each in leading Norfolk State to a 73-68 win over Coppin State on Saturday.

Goode also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Spartans who shot 50 percent in the game. Norfolk State learned earlier in the week that interim coach Robert Jones signed-on for the head coach position for three years.

Norfolk State (15-11, 9-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) led 35-27 at the break and dominated the boards 21-9, grabbing seven more offensive rebounds than Coppin State in accounting for the 8-point halftime lead.

The Spartans stretched that lead to 17 points in the second period before Coppin State (9-18, 6-8) responded with a run of its own and narrowed the lead to 71-68 with 9 seconds to play, but time ran out on its comeback effort.

Taariq Cephas scored 19 points and Sterling Smith added 14 for Coppin State.

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