NCAA News Wire
Denver 80, Coppin State 54
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Senior guard Cam Griffin recorded a double-double to lead Denver to an 80-54 victory over Coppin State on Sunday afternoon at Magness Arena in Denver.
Griffin had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Denver (2-1), which shot 57.1 percent from the field. Senior guard Brett Olson scored 14 points to lead five players who scored in double figures for the Pioneers.
Senior forward Arnold Fripp had 19 points and six rebounds for Coppin State (0-4), which was last in the nation in scoring defense going into the game after allowing 328 points in its first three games against Oregon, Illinois and Notre Dame.
Coppin State led 11-9 after sophomore guard Christian Kessee made a jumper with 11:03 to play in the opening period, but junior guard Nate Engesser made a 3-pointer at the other end to start a 13-4 run for Denver.
The Eagles cut the deficit to four on a 3-pointer by Fripp with 3:22 to go, but the Pioneers ended the half with a 9-2 run to take a 34-23 lead into the break.
Coppin State outscored Denver 7-2 to start the second half and cut the lead to 35-30 on a 3-pointer by senior guard Daquan Brickhouse with17:18 remaining, but the Pioneers pulled away again. They staged a 12-2 run to take a 47-32 lead on a layup by junior guard Jalen Love.
The Eagles got within 10 midway through the second half, but they couldn’t sustain the momentum and faded over the next few minutes.
