Evansville 85, Coppin State 80

Evansville took advantage of a road-weary Coppin State squad Sunday and avoided a huge upset as the Purple Aces dropped the Eagles, 85-80, in Evansville, Ind., in the first meeting between the two programs.

The Purple Aces (10-2) jumped out to a 45-30 lead during a high-scoring first half, but Coppin State — which came into the game with just one win on the season — wouldn’t go away, roaring all the way back to take a lead, 69-68, with 4:12 left in the game on a 3-pointer from guard Taariq Cephas.

But the Purple Aces, behind a game-high 32 points from guard D.J. Balentine, regained the lead shortly after and pulled away to down Coppin State, which has played all but two of its games this season on the road.

Coppin State guard Sterling Smith paced the Eagles (1-12) with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Forward Arnold Fripp posted a double-double in the loss with 13 points and 11 boards.

Coppin State guard Daquan Brickhouse added 12 points and guard Christian Kessee chipped in 11 points. The Eagles recorded 16 steals in the defeat.

Evansville also got solid games from center Egidijus Mockevicius, who dropped in 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win, and forward Blake Simmons added 13 points and four assists.

Sunday’s game marked the final non-conference contest for Evansville and improved the Aces to 10-2 overall — their best start in program history.

Evansville, which won its third game in a row Sunday, will next open play in the Missouri Valley Conference on Jan. 1 at home against Northern Iowa.

Coppin State, which has now lost eight games in a row, will look to get back in the win column Tuesday at home against Eastern Kentucky.