From theciaa.com :
Anthony Jeffries contributed to this story
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (February 27, 2019) – Elizabeth City State relied on defense to pull out a 62-61 men’s basketball first-round overtime victory over Winston-Salem State in the CIAA Tournament at Bojangles’ Coliseum on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
The Vikings outscored the Rams 7-0 in the final seven minutes of regulation to force the extra session. In overtime, the Vikings stopped the Rams in the final seconds for the win.
The Vikings, seeded fifth in the Northern Division, advanced to play Virginia State, the Northern Division champion, in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. The Rams, seeded fourth in the Southern Division, end their season at 12-15 overall.
The Vikings canned four of eight free throws in overtime including one of two free throws by Aujameq Daniels for a 62-58 lead with 1:56 left. Robert Colon brought the Rams within one on a three-pointer, and after a Vikings’ miss, the Rams grabbed the rebound with 12.3 seconds left.
But as they had done all night, the Vikings prevented the Rams from getting a clean look at the basket. A deep three-point attempt by the Rams was short as time expired.
Justin Faison and Joseph Allen each scored 10 points for the Vikings, who shot 36.2 percent but forced 23 turnovers and limited the Rams to 34.8 percent shooting. The Vikings scored 22 points off Rams’ turnovers.
“Twenty-three turnovers is something you can’t do in a college basketball game, especially a first-round tournament game,” Winston-Salem State Head Coach Cleo Hill, Jr. said.
The Rams led 55-48 on a William Crandell layup with 6:46 remaining in the second half but went scoreless as the Vikings mounted a run to send the game into overtime. The Vikings forced four turnovers during that span.
On the Rams’ last possession in overtime, the Vikings switched defenses to disrupt their opponent.
“We played a 2-3 zone during the game,” ECSU Head Coach Shawn Walker said. “On the last play, we showed man and went to a 3-2 zone which seemed to throw [WSSU] off. The kids did a good job of executing what I asked them to do.”
The contest was a defensive battle with both teams switching defenses. The lead changed eight times as both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm.
Colon opened the second half with a jumper for a five-point Rams lead, but the Vikings moved ahead by four midway in the half. Before you could blink, the Rams had a seven-point lead and were seemingly in control before the Vikings rallied.
Both Julius Barnes and James Rucker II scored 14 points for the Rams. Colon added 13 points.
The first-round game was similar to their regular-season meeting. The Vikings won in overtime on the road 82-79 in January.
