by Vikings Sports Information Department
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (Feb. 23, 2019) – Elizabeth City State held off Bowie State, 60-55, on Senior Day in the Robert L. Vaughan Center for a regular-season ending CIAA victory.
Seniors Corey Mendez, Shyheid Petteway and Charles Woods contributed to the victory which gave the Vikings (13-15, CIAA 9-8, North Div. 3-7) a season series split with the Bulldogs (16-12, CIAA 12-5, North Div. 6-4).
Junior forward Joseph Allen paced ECSU with a dozen points and eight rebounds while sophomore guard Justin Faison netted 11 points as the Vikings snapped a 3-game losing streak.
Guards Mendez and Petteway scored nine points apiece while Wood tallied four points in their final appearances in the Vaughan Center.
Junior center Tyjhai Byers, who came up with big plays down the stretch, finished with seven points, six rebounds and eight blocked shots to give him 80 on the season. His five for six performance at the free throw line proved pivotal.
Junior forward Saiquan Jamison led all scorers with 13 points for Bowie State while junior guard Cameron Hayes added a dozen points. Freshman forward Davie Belle chipped in eight points and six rebounds while junior forward Yohance Fleming pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
Hayes nailed a 3-point jumper with 8:50 left to give the Bulldogs their last lead at 44-42. After a layup by Mendez and a free throw by Bowie State junior guard Rinardo Perry, ECSU answered with a trey and a layup by Faison and a Mendez jumper to take the lead for keeps at 51-45. Then the Vikings held off the Bulldogs for the final six minutes.
Junior guard Juwan Smith slice the ECSU lead to 57-54 with 24 seconds left before Mendez knocked down a pair of free throws. Jamison sank the first of two free throws with four second remaining before Byers rebounded the miss of second to ice the game. He provided the final point of the day at the other end.
Fleming dropped in a pair of free throws with 10:58 left to complete a 15-3 rally that allowed Bowie State to chase down to Vikings and take a 41-39 lead.
Allen netted six points and Petteway five to fuel a 23-6 first-half run which gave the Vikings a 32-22 halftime edge. A jumper by sophomore guard Shykeef Daniels capped the spree with 3:44 left in the period and staked ECSU to a 29-18 lead.
