Jan. 15, 2006

Final Stats

GREENVILLE, SC- The Elizabeth City State Vikings defeated the Claflin University Panther 68-62 in the final game of the 2006 Greenville HBCU Classic Saturday night at Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University.

ECSU got 39 points off the bench lead by senior reserves Courtney Castro and Dwayne Washington, Jr. with 15 and 13 respectively. The Panthers, whose bench produced only 5 points, were led by Antonio Kelly?s 24 points.

With the Vikings ahead by 9 points at the 12:01 mark in the first half, the offense appeared to be clicking on all cylinders. Then the offense stalled and the Panther pounced and after a run, took a four-point advantage into the locker room (34-30). In the second half the two teams would continually trade baskets. The difference proved to be the Panthers inability to protect the ball as they committed 11 of their 26 turnovers in the second stanza. With the score knotted at 48 with 6:46 remaining the Vikings would pull ahead for good when Mitchell Moffatt connected on one of two from the charity stripe. After a subsequent turnover by the Panthers, an Anthony Hilliard lay-up from Tyrone Green pushed the Viking lead to 3 points. Another turnover and foul by Claflin sent Moffatt back to the line where he would again convert on 1 of 2 free throws. Despite a late push by the Panthers, a 3-pointer by Courtney Castro with 1:37 remaining proved to be the final dagger as it pushed the spread to 8 points in favor of ECSU.

The only Viking other than Castro and Washington to score in double figures was freshman Anthony Hilliard who contributed 10 points. The Panthers (4-8) got a double-double from Maurice Williams with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

ECSU will return to action on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 as they travel to Raleigh, NC to take on Saint Augustine's College. Game time is slated for 7:30pm. For more information on ECSU Athletics, log onto www.ecsuvikings.com.