Final Stats

AIKEN, SC- Columbus State University survived a second half rally and held on to defeat Elizabeth City State University 79-76 Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

Kyree Marshall came off the bench to lead ECSU in scoring and rebounding with 18 and 7 respectively.

The Cougars move to 3-0 on year and finish the weekend at the tipoffs' only undefeated team. CSU had a balanced offense with Kenney Funderburk's 22 points pacing four double figure scorers. Columbus State also enjoyed a comfortable advantage from the free throw line. The Cougars converted 26 of 34 shots, thus making more free throws than ECSU attempted (13-19).

The Vikings trailed 4-0 in the game's opening moments but stormed back to take the lead, which they held until the 12:25 mark. A jumper by CSU's BJ Battle at the point put his team in front 14-13. The game would remain close until the Cougars closed half on a 10-4 run to take a 43-32 lead into the intermission.

ECSU got within a point of tying the game on a John Tatum three-pointer with 12:55 to go but CSU would push their lead to 9 points on three separate occasions down the stretch. After and offensive rebound and put-back by JaCori Payne gave the Cougars a seven point lead (77-70), ECSU mustered one last rally with back to back threes by Miykael Faulcon, the latter coming with just 11 ticks left.

The Cougars sank two of four free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win. Columbus State went 15-20 from the charity stripe in the second half alone.

Faulcon finished with 17 points and Elon Edwards chipped in with 13 points and 6 assists.

The Vikings will hold their home opener on Monday at 7pm vs. Mid-Atlantic Christian at the RL Vaughan Center. Follow on Twitter @ECSUVikings and visit www.ecsuvikings.com for more information.