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Monday, March 17, 1997

Longhorns hang on to beat giant-killing Coppin State, 82-81

By JEFFREY BAIR

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Coppin State called a timeout to set up a potential winning shot, but the move backfired on the Eagles.

DeJuan Vazquez intercepted an inbounds pass with four seconds left, preserving Texas' 82-81 win over the upstart Eagles in the second round of the NCAA East Regional on Sunday.

After Texas' Reggie Freeman blocked Danny Singletary's shot out of bounds, Coppin State coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell called a timeout to set up the final play. But the timeout allowed Texas coach Tom Penders to insert 6-foot-10 Sheldon Quarles, whose size forced Fred Warrick to throw an errant inbounds pass.

"We were fortunate to get the timeout to talk about our defense," Penders said.

Vazquez said he "just reacted to the ball" after Al Coleman picked up Vazquez's man.

"The kid didn't have a good look," Penders said of Warrick.

Tenth-seeded Texas (18-11), which reached the final 16 for the first time in seven years, will play Louisville on Friday in Syracuse, N.Y.

Coppin State (22-9), which upset second-seeded South Carolina in the first round, was trying to become the first No. 15 seed to reach the final 16.

"Athletes like to win, but it is hard for me to hang my head right now," Reggie Welch said. "You have to accept the bad with the good. We had a heckuva ride."

Freeman, who had 31 points in an opening-round win over Wisconsin, scored 22 points Sunday. He had only five points on 2-for-7 shooting in the first half, but heated up in the second half.

"In the first half, I was shooting in-and-out. I couldn't find my rhythm," Freeman said. "I started to get a rhythm and make shots in the second half."

Antoine Brockington led Coppin State with 27 points, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

"We were in his face all day, and he was still knocking them down," Penders said.

Moments before the final play, Texas' Brandy Perryman threw a wild pass that Kareem Lewis stole to give Coppin State its chance at another big upset.

Coppin State trailed by 10 points at halftime, but the Eagles opened the second half with a 10-4 run led by Singletary, who had two steals, took a charge and converted a three-point play in a 2:30 span.

Terquin Mott scored 16 points for Coppin State, a Baltimore school so small it had to borrow a band from nearby Morgan State for the tournament.

The crowd at the Civic Arena favored underdog Coppin State and gave the Eagles a standing ovation on their way to the locker room.

"Where I come from, I'm happy if I can get 20 people cheering for us," Mitchell said. "If I get 17,000, I'm ecstatic."

COPPIN STATE (22-9) - Welch 5-7 1-2 13, Seamon 0-2 0-0 0, Mott 7-13 2-6 16, Brockington 11-15 0-0 27, T.Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, King 0-0 0-0 0, Singletary 5-14 3-3 13, Warrick 2-8 2-2 8, K.Lewis 1-4 2-3 4, Watkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-63 10-16 81.

TEXAS (18-11) - Muonoke 3-3 1-2 7, Clack 6-10 4-5 17, Jordan 6-7 3-4 15, Vazquez 1-6 1-2 4, Freeman 6-17 7-7 22, Quarles 1-2 0-1 2, Coleman 3-5 1-2 9, Perryman 2-6 0-0 6, Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 17-23 82.

Halftime-Texas 49, Coppin State 39. 3-Point goals-Coppin State 9-22 (Brockington 5-6, Welch 2-4, Warrick 2-5, Mott 0-1, K.Lewis 0-1, Seamon 0-2, Singletary 0-3), Texas 9-28 (Freeman 3-10, Coleman 2-3, Perryman 2-6, Clack 1-2, Vazquez 1-6, Jordan 0-1). Fouled out-Mott. Rebounds-Coppin State 31 (Mott, Brockington 6), Texas 38 (Freeman, Clack 9). Assists-Coppin State 13 (Singletary 6), Texas 17 (Freeman 7). Total fouls-Coppin State 21, Texas 18. A-17,509. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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