Pirates returned home after a Trip to Myrtle Beach last weekend in which they went 1-2. The Pirates were coming off six days rest, which is the longest so far in the young season. Coppin State on the other hand has already played nine games most recently Wednesday when they lost 76-75 to Canisius.
The Pirates had a slow start missing their first four shots, and six of their first seven. That was understandable after 6 days without a game. The Pirates bounced back quickly and shot 46% from the field in the first half and 38% from downtown. Brandon Suggs had a game high 15 in the first half on 6-10 shooting and he was 2-3 from downtown.
Pirates pulled away early in the second half leading by 12. Despite being 1-8 on the season and down a dozen the Eagles battled back and trimmed the lead to one, with just under 10 minutes remaining. The Eagles kept the pressure on the Pirates and tied the game for the first time since it was 22-22 with 1:47 remaining in the ballgame. With 57 seconds left Pirate guard Tristian Newton found himself at the line for a 1-and-1. He missed the front end. The Pirates got a stop on defense by forcing a miss by Jesse Zarzuela, and Newton found himself with the ball in his hands in a tie game with the shot clock off. The sophomore didn’t let the early miss get to him as he hit a floater at the buzzer to give the Pirates their 5th win of the season by a score of 70-68.
Despite Newton’s buzzer beater and Suggs season high 25 points, the unsung hero of the game was Brandon Johnson. The freshman from Raleigh pulled down a game high 19 rebounds six of which were offensive. Coach Dooley after the game said he would like the team to rebound better but Johnson made up for the lack of team rebounding. On Tuesday the Pirates will host a 3-4 Old Dominion team that the Pirates last saw on November 19th in a game ECU won 73-60. It’s tough to beat a team twice in one year so we will see how the Pirates handle a familiar foe.