March 1, 2006

Final Stats

CHARLOTTE, NC - Livingstone gave Elizabeth City State a major scare but the Vikings rallied in the final minutes for a 54-51 first-round victory Wednesday in the first game of the CIAA men's tournament.

The Vikings (13-14 overall), seeded third in the Eastern Division, faces Saint Augustine's College Thursday in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Livingstone, seeded sixth in the Western Division, ended its season at 7-21.

The Blue Bears led the entire game until the final 2:34 of the contest. It looked as if an upset was in the making but Ben Bridges hit two free throws with 29 seconds left to put Elizabeth City State ahead 52-51.

After a Livingstone miss, Anthony Hilliard scored a lay up with seven seconds remaining for the final three-point margin. Santos Martinez of Livingstone attempted a three-pointer at the top of the key that fell way short to end the game.

Maurice Wilkerson led ECSU with 12 points and four steals. Ben Bridges added 11 points and two steals for the Vikings.

Terrence Jones of Livingstone led all scorers with 17 points and Martinez added 13 points.

Overall, the Vikings' depth was the difference as their reserves outscored Livingstone's bench 28-18. The Vikings also scored 19 points off 15 Livingstone turnovers while the Blue Bears scored 12 points off 13 Elizabeth City State turnovers.

The Blue Bears led by as many as 11 in the first half before settling for a 32-27 halftime lead but scored only 19 points in the second half.

The Vikings will now face the Saint Augustine's College Falcons in the second round of the CIAA Tournament. In their one meeting this season the Falcons edged the Vikings 91- 84 in Raleigh, NC.