It didn’t take long for Coppin State men’s basketball to deliver a signature March moment.
Nendah Tarke hit a pull-up jumper at the buzzer to lift the No. 7 seed Eagles to a 59-57 upset win over No. 2 seed Howard in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference quarterfinals Wednesday night at Norfolk Scope Arena in Virginia.
After a free throw by Howard’s Elijah Hawkins tied the game at 57 with 18 seconds left, the Eagles held the ball for the final shot. With five seconds left, Tarke shook his defender at the top of the key and pulled up just inside the 3-point line to hit a jumper as the final buzzer sounded, sending Coppin to the tournament semifinals.
Tarke, who was recently named to the All-MEAC first team, finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Kyle Cardaci added 15 points for the Eagles, who will face the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 3 seed North Carolina Central and No. 6 seed Maryland Eastern Shore.
No. 3 seed Morgan State faces No. 6 seed South Carolina State on Thursday at 2 p.m., with the winner taking on No. 2 seed Norfolk State.
The Eagles, coached by former Maryland and Calvert Hall star Juan Dixon, have not reached the NCAA tournament since 2008.
