Men’s Basketball Upends Coppin State, 62-56

Bronx, N.Y. – As it has been for the past few games, tonight's Fordham-Coppin State men's basketball game was a Jekyll & Hyde affair for the Rams. Fordham stormed out of the gates to build a 15-point lead in the first half only to see the Eagles claw their way back into the game in the second. However, Fordham stepped up its defensive intensity and hit some free throws over the final minute to pull out a 62-56 win in the Rose Hill Gym on Monday night.
 
With the win, Fordham evens its record at 6-6 while Coppin State falls to 4-11.
 
Sophomore guard Jalen Cobb scored a game-high 21 points, hitting eleven of 13 free throws, while sophomore guard Ty Perry added 18 points, hitting six of his ten three-point attempts, to lead Fordham. Junior forward Chuba Ohams also chipped in with his fourth double-double of the year, scoring ten points and adding ten rebounds.
 
Fordham led by 14 at the break, 39-25, but the Eagles opened the second half with nine straight points to make it a five-point game, 39-34, three minutes into the second half.
 
Later in the half, Coppin State cut the Fordham lead to two, 50-48, with 7:14 remaining and the Rams led by two again, 56-54, with two minutes left.
 
Onyi Eyisi was fouled on an offensive rebound and sank one of two free throws to bump the Fordham lead to three, 57-54, with 30 seconds left and the Rams hit five of its six free throws down the stretch for the win.
 
Takeaways
• It was the first game this year that Chuba Ohams and Antwon Portley did not start for Fordham.

• Fordham led for 36:47 while Coppin State led for just 59 seconds.
 
• The Rams were without the services of senior guard Antwon Portley (injury) and Joel Soriano (Illness).
 
• The game featured a matchup of former high school teammates as Fordham's Kyle Rose faced off with his former Eleanor Roosevelt High School teammate Isaiah Gross.
 
• Fordham has taken both meetings with Coppin State.
 
• The Rams held Coppin State's leading scorer, Kamar McKnight, who entered the game averaging 15.8 ppg, to just four points on 2-for-8 shooting.
 
By the Numbers
3 – Blocks by Onyi Eyisi.
 
5 – Career double-doubles for Chuba Ohams.
 
10 – Steals by Fordham, the fifth double-digit steal game of the year for the Rams.
 
11 – Rebounds for Onyi Eyisi, a game-high, and his second double digit rebounding game of the year.
 
652 – All-time wins in the Rose Hill Gym for the Rams.
 
1,535 – All-time wins for Fordham.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams open Atlantic 10 play on Thursday, January 2, as they travel to Richmond, Va., to face the VCU Rams in the Stuart C. Siegel Center at 7:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the eleventh meeting between Fordham and VCU on the hardwood.
 
• VCU leads the all-time series, 9-1.
 
• VCU took last year's meeting, 76-51, on January 5, in the Rose Hill Gym as Marcus Evans scored 17 points and Marcus Santos-Silva added 13 points.