IOWA CITY, IA - The La Salle Explorers (3-1) fell to Coppin State (2-5) in a disappointing last minute 69-68 loss in the opening round of the Hawkeye Challenge on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Despite leading by as many as nine points for most of the game, the Explorers could not fend off a second-half Coppin State run that was fueled primarily by the 31 points from Philadelphia native Tywain McKee (Bartram High).
Freshman Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter) had career highs in points (18), rebounds (6), and assists (4), while junior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Frances) had a team-high 19 points.
The Eagles kept the game close by capitalizing on a series of turnovers and missed Explorer shots with under two minutes left in the first half to cut a nine-point Explorer lead down to 37-34 at the end of the first period.
The Explorers surrendered the lead midway through the second half and swapped leads the rest of the way until freshman Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick's) wrestled an offensive rebound and drew a foul to reach the free-throw line with just over a minute left. Mekongo Mbala made both ends of the one-and-one to give the Explorers their final lead of the game at 67-66.
On the ensuing Coppin possession the Explorers forced a stop and Mekongo Mbala found himself on top of another loose ball and drawing a foul. The foul was the fifth on McKee and forced the Eagles' leading scorer out of the game. This time, however, Mekongo Mbala missed the first shot of the one-and-one and allowed Darryl Roberts to hit a three-pointer with 18.8 seconds remaining to give his team the lead at 69-67.
After an Explorers time-out with 14.4 seconds remaining Green made a drive to the basket and was fouled. He hit the first shot but missed the second to draw the Explorers within a point at 69-68. The rebound was secured by Explorer senior Mike St. John (Northboro, MA/River School) whose reverse lay-up missed the mark at the buzzer.
The loss was the first of the season for the Explorers and will set them up for a second-round match-up against either Texas Pan-American or host Iowa on Saturday night at either 6:45 PM or 8:00 PM EST. Iowa will play at 8:00 PM regardless of the outcome of their game.
