It took all the way up to the final possession, but the Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball program continues to make history in the early going.
Levi Beckwith forced a turnover with four seconds left and ran out the clock as the Hawks held off Coppin State 70-67 Saturday, improving to 4-0 in conference play.
The 4-0 MEAC start is UMES’ best since becoming a full-time Division I school in 1981 and the best overall since their 1973-74 team advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) semifinals.
The Hawks (8-13 overall) got 20 points each from Dorion Staples and Zion Obanla in the win.
Coppin State (3-18 overall, 2-2 MEAC) tied the game at 61 with 2:55 left in the second half on a basket and free throw by Taj Thweatt. Maryland Eastern Shore countered with a Justin Monden three-pointer to take the lead for good.
Justin Monden w/ another 3
Hawks lead 66-63 vs Coppin State
1:26 left in 2nd half pic.twitter.com/Ro39SiLv6n
— 𝙃𝘼𝙒𝙆 𝙈𝙀𝙉’𝙎 𝙃𝙊𝙊𝙋𝙎
(@UMESHawksHoops) January 17, 2026
Monden shot 4 of 7 from the field, including 2 of 3 from the three-point line and 4 for 5 from the free throw line for 14 points.
UMES transfer Hassan Perkins scored to pull the Eagles within three points at 70-67, then Coppin State forced a turnover with 20 seconds left, giving them one final chance to force overtime.
That chance came and went as Beckwith made off with an errant Thweatt pass to end the ball game.
Coppin State was led by Nelson Lamizana’s 16 points, followed by 13 from Torrin Andrews and 10 from Perkins.
