Marquette University
Coppin State (Pepsi Blue And Gold Classic)
No. 16 Marquette Basketball Squad Tops Coppin State
11/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov 22, 2002
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Marquette had a big height advantage, as well as the skill of Dwyane Wade. One of those two qualities would been more than enough against overmatched Coppin State.
Wade scored 24 points, and No. 16 Marquette outscored Coppin State 40-10 in the paint on its way to a 64-46 victory in the first round of the Pepsi Blue and Gold Classic on Friday night.
Marquette (2-0) will play Texas-San Antonio in Saturday's championship, while Coppin State (0-1) will play Idaho State in the consolation game. Texas-San Antonio beat Idaho State 76-71 in overtime.
Coppin State (0-1) trailed only 36-30 at halftime as Jimmy Boykin scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting. Crean put Wade on him in the second half, and Boykin missed all seven of his shots after halftime.
Wade, a 6-foot-5 junior, was Marquette's leader in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season. This year, it's also his task to guard the opponent's best player.
"Dwyane did a really good job on Jimmy Boykin," Crean said. "I probably should have put him out there on him from the beginning, because he is going to be our defensive stopper this year."
Coppin State is coming off a 6-25 season and dressed just seven scholarship players. The team dismissed several experienced players during the off-season because of discipline problems.
Marquette went inside to Robert Jackson, a 6-foot-10 senior who transferred from Mississippi State, to take control of the game in the second half. Jackson finished with 13 points and scored all of Marquette's points during a 9-2 run that gave the Golden Eagles a 57-42 lead with 5:39 left.
Strong post play was something that was missing the last two years, Wade said. "Now, we've got it."
Terry Sanders is fouled as he goes to the basket during the first half.  | |
Coppin State was held to 16 points in the second half, making only seven of 31 shots after shooting 52 percent in the first half.
"In the first half, we didn't do a good job of rotating," Wade said. "In the second half, we had more of a sense of urgency not to let them score."
Boykin was the only Coppin State player in double figures.
Marquette's starting front line of Jackson, 6-10 Scott Merritt and 6-7 Todd Townsend helped the Golden Eagles dominate 41-20 on the boards. Boykin is Coppin State's tallest starter at 6-7, and the team started 6-5 Darron Bradley at center.
"I'm not the most intelligent person you ever met, but I knew going into this game that we'd have a problem rebounding," Coppin State coach Ron Mitchell said.
Marquette's inside dominance also got the Golden Eagles to the free throw line often, making 12-of-16. Coppin State didn't get to the line until Larry Tucker made two free throws with less than a minute remaining.
