BOX SCORE
(ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.) Elizabeth City State University placed four in double figures as the Vikings topped Bowie State University 77-52. The Bowie State loss, the first in the division (7-1) puts the Bulldogs record at 18-4 overall and 12-2 in the CIAA.
On a Rondy Tucker layup with nine minutes to go in the first stanza, ECSU's Vikings took a 23-12 lead, and would not relinquish the double digit advantage for the rest of the game. Powered by Tucker's 18 point, 11 rebound first half outing, along with 10 first half points by Paul Goldsmith, the Vikings held a 41-23 lead at the intermission.
The Bulldogs hit on only seven-of-32 shots in the first half (22 percent) and gave up 16 second chance points, mostly off the offensive glass. Tucker corralled eight of the Vikings 15 first half offensive boards. Bowie State, who hit on only one-of-13 attempts behind the arc, was a season-low 29% for the game on 18-of-61 shooting from the field.
Over the first five minutes of the second half, the Vikings outscored Bowie State 10-2, pushing the lead to 20+ for the duration of the contest. After being held scoreless in the first half Deon Rice gave the Vikings an added offensive boost, netting all 14 of his points in the second half.
Goldsmith finished with 15 points and Trent Bivens added 11 points as a reserve.
Sophomore
Byron Westmorland (Baltimore, MD, Mergenthaler, Baltimore City C.C.) led the Bulldogs with 16 points off the bench. Junior
Darren Clark (Largo, MD, Largo, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania) chipped in with 13 points.
“I give them (Elizabeth City State) a lot of credit …They really beat us up on the backboard, a stat we usually win and they simply outplayed us in every phase of the game”, said Bowie State coach
Darrell Books.
Bowie State returns to action – Saturday (February 12) against Lincoln University of Pennsylvania at 7:30 pm in Lincoln's Manuel Rivero Hall. Elizabeth City State (14-8, 8-6 CIAA, 4-4 North) travel to Chowan on Saturday for a television game against the Hawks at 5:05 pm.
