Final Stats

ELIZABETH CITY, NC- Chowan University's Cortez Smith poured in a game high 24 points as the Hawks edged Elizabeth City State University 76-71 Saturday afternoon at the RL Vaughan Center.

After scoring 8 points in the first half, Smith carried the offensive load for his team, willing the Hawks to a key win in the Northern Division opener. With the victory Chowan extends their win streak to nine games and improves to 14-3 overall, 7-0 in the CIAA.

The Vikings shook off a slow start and rallied from eleven points down in the first half a tie the game a 28 on a Miykael Faulcon jumper at the 1:08 mark. The score remained knotted at 28 at halftime.

The two teams combined to shoot an incredulous 58 free throws in the game. The Hawks camped out at the free throw line in the second half going 21-25 to 16-19 for the Vikings. ECSU did not attempt a free throw in the first half.

Kortez Smith completed a three point play with 4:32 left in the game to give the Hawks a 63-62 lead. On the Vikings' ensuing possession Jermaine Brown sank two from the line to put ECSU back up by a point. Smith then went back to the line on the Hawks' next two possessions and converted all four attempts. After an ECSU miss, a breakaway layup by Marco Haskins gave Chowan a five point advantage with 1:42 remaining.

Haskins hit a three point play to give CU a 72-68 lead until Miykael Faulcon drained a three from the top of the key with 10 seconds left to pull the Vikings within a point. Two Hawk free throws and an ECSU turnover with 4 seconds left, secured the win for Chowan.

DeCarlos Anderson was the Vikings' high scorer with 13 points.

ECSU (7-7, CIAA 4-3) will host Lincoln University on Wednesday at the RL Vaughan Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30pm.