NORFOLK, Va. – Host Norfolk State missed its first 18 field goals on Monday night, putting the Spartans in a deep hole from which they could not escape and leading to their first MEAC loss of the season, an 87-82 defeat at the hands of Coppin State at Echols Hall.

NSU fell to 16-7 overall and 8-1 in the MEAC after the loss. The Eagles improved to 11-11, 6-3.

CSU scored the game's first 12 points and held NSU scoreless until NSU forward #A.J. Rogers# hit a free throw with 13:46 on the clock. The Eagles then scored the next five points to stretch their lead to 17-1 before NSU finally hit a field goal, a Pendarvis Williams 3-pointer with 8:40 remaining in the half.

But things wouldn't get much better for NSU in the period. The Spartans shot just 15 percent (4-of-27) from the floor in the first half, including 9 percent (1-of-11) from behind the arc. The Eagles, meanwhile, got 10 points from Tony Gallo and shot 48 percent from the field to take a 35-13 lead into halftime.

NSU came out on fire to start the second half, using an aggressive full-court pressing defense and three early jumpers from Chris McEachin to begin its rally. McEachin scored eight points in the first two and a half minutes of the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers, as NSU cut its deficit to 37-23.

But when the Spartans couldn't force turnovers, CSU converted on the other end. The Eagles hit eight of their first nine shots from the floor out of the break, including a trio of 3-pointers by guard Michael Harper. The last of those gave CSU a 57-34 edge with 12:48 left to play.

Undeterred, the Spartans slowly rallied thanks to center Kyle O'Quinn, who posted his 15th double-double of the year. NSU went on a 16-2 run to turn a 70-50 deficit into a 72-66 game with 3:16 left. O'Quinn had six points in the spurt, McEachin hit two more 3-pointers, and Brandon Wheeless had the last two buckets in the run.

CSU answered with four straight free throws, two each by Gallo and Logan Wiens, to stretch the lead back to 10 with 1:52 left. The Spartans made one final frenzied charge, which included a pair of steals in the backcourt in the final 30 seconds. O'Quinn grabbed his ninth and final offensive rebound of the night to slice the lead to four, 86-82, but only three seconds remained on the clock as NSU's comeback attempt ran out of time.

Harper had 20 points to pace CSU. He was 8-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-6 from long range. Gallo had 16, Akeem Ellis 14 and Wiens 12 for the Eagles, who shot 62.5 percent in the second half to finish at 55 percent for the game, highest by an NSU opponent for the year. The Eagles also made 75 percent of their free throws (27-of-36) on the night, including 19-of-27 in the second half.

After scoring a season-low 13 points in the first half, NSU responded with an astounding 69-point second half. NSU shot 53 percent from the floor, making 27-of-51 in the final 20 minutes. But for the game, NSU only made 40 percent (31-of-78).

After not scoring in the first half, O'Quinn finished with a season-high 27 points and 18 rebounds, one shy of his career. He was 11-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the line. In two games against CSU this season, O'Quinn has 51 points and 37 rebounds.

McEachin, who also did not scratch in the first half, ended with 17 points and hit five second-half 3-pointers, but shot just 6-of-19 for the night. Williams scored 11 points while Johnson and Wheeless chipped in with 10 apiece. NSU also outrebounded the Eagles 42-29, including a season-high 24 offensive rebounds, and notched 11 steals. Jamel Fuentes led all players with six assists for the Spartans.

NSU hits the road for its next two games, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest at Delaware State on Saturday night.