Coppin State lists Antonio Williams as a 6-foot-6 forward, although by his own admission, he probably is a shade under that.
Whatever his true height, Williams played like a giant Saturday night, grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds in Coppin's 88-70 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rout of North Carolina A&T in the Physical Education Complex.
His athleticism and quickness were too much for Aggies big man Thomas Coleman (6-9), who scored 21 points but answered Williams' strength inside with just eight rebounds.
"I've got a niche for getting the ball," Williams said, explaining his advantage on the boards. "And I'm going to work harder than the other guys."
In the year of Coppin's basketball resurgence, Williams was a prime addition for coach Fang Mitchell. He is one of eight new players on the roster, one of five junior college players brought in this year and one of four new starters in the lineup. He arrived via Monroe Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
In the past two games, Williams has accumulated 33 rebounds. The 18 he pulled down Saturday were the most at Coppin since Larry Stewart had 18 in 1990.
"I'm really proud of our offense," Mitchell said after Coppin's fourth straight win. "We know we can score. But what's going to make us better is how many stops we get. And [tonight] Antonio Williams did a tremendous job of rebounding."
More than anything, Williams gives Mitchell an inside presence the team has lacked the last several years. He had seven offensive rebounds against the Aggies (9-12, 4-3) and finished with nine points in a game in which everything fell together for Coppin.
"This is starting to get good," said point guard Vince Goldsberry, one of only two seniors on the team. "We all know each other's strengths and weaknesses. This year, we've just got a bunch of dudes who want to win no matter what."
Coppin's multi-faceted offense came with good shooting from the perimeter (the Eagles hit 12 of 29 threes-point attempts) and inside the arc (32 for 64 overall). Michael Harper and Tony Gallo scored 18 points each, Harper on transition baskets and Gallo from outside.
Harper delivered two spectacular dunks in the final six minutes, one off a pass from Gallo and another off his own steal. Lee Jordan added 13 points and Goldsberry 10, including a layup that capped a 13-0 run early in the second half for Coppin (10-9, 5-2 MEAC).
When the Eagles weren't hitting threes, they cut to the basket with exacting precision.
"We're starting to learn what we're supposed to do and we do have balance in our offense," Mitchell said. "We have quick guards. It's not a question that they can get to the hole. I recognize we have shooters … even guys on the bench can shoot."
Mitchell said the team's goal still is to win the MEAC and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament. This year, he appears to have a team capable of pulling it off.
"This is a different type team," he said. "They're bringing to the table a variety of talents. Like I said before, if I can just get them to understand how important the defense is going tobe, then we'll be in pretty good shape."
