ELIZABETH CITY, NC (Dec. 11, 2018) – Elizabeth City State's furious second-half rally fell short as UNC Pembroke escaped the Robert L. Vaughan Center with a 72-58 victory.
 
Down by as many as 21 points in the opening half, the Vikings surged to within four points twice in the final period only to be held off by the visitors.
 
A pair of free throws by sophomore guard Orlando Robinson and a layup by sophomore guard Shykeef Daniels brought the Vikings to within striking distance for the final time at 59-55 with 4:15 remaining.  But junior forward John Maynor's fourth 3-point jumper of the night provided the only points the rest of the way for ECSU.
 
A 3-point jumper by freshman guard Cam Hamilton followed by a conventional 3-point play by sophomore forward Spencer Levi boosted the Braves' lead to 65-55 ahead of Maynor's final trey before UNC Pembroke netted the last seven points of the game.
 
The Vikings exploded for a 21-6 rally during the opening seven minutes of the second half to whittle a 20-point deficit to 49-44.  Maynor connected on his second 3-point jumper of the spurt to cap a 9-0 mini-run to get ECSU back in the fray.  Sophomore guard Justin Faison tallied seven points during the outburst.
 
The Braves used deadly shooting and rebounding muscle to build a 43-23 halftime advantage with senior forward James Murray-Boyles leading the balanced attack with 10 points.  He knocked down two of three shots from beyond the arc and sophomore guard David Strother sank both of his 3-point tries in the half as UNCP drained seven of 14 long-range jumpers.  ECSU connected on just one of 12 3-point attempts during the first 20 minutes. 
 
Hamilton's steal and fastbreak feed to Levi for a dunk with 5:15 left in the half gave the Braves their biggest lead at 32-11.
 
Maynor paced the Vikings with 14 points while Faison added 13 points and a team-high three steals.  Junior center Joseph Allen, who paced ECSU with seven rebounds, and Robinson had 10 points apiece.
 
Murray-Boyles led all scorers with 17 while adding six rebounds for the Braves.  Levi, who snared a team-high seven rebounds, Hamilton and Strother posted 10 points each for UNC Pembroke.
 
The Braves constructed a 56-32 rebounding edge with a 27-17 margin in bench scoring.
 
The Vikings (3-7, CIAA 1-0) suffered their sixth loss in the last seven games while the Braves (6-1, PBC 1-0) reeled off their fourth straight victory.
 
It was the third game in a six-game homestand for ECSU which hosts three key CIAA contests over a five-day period.  The Vikings welcome Shaw University to the Vaughan Center on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., St. Augustine's on Saturday at 4 o'clock and Fayetteville State on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in a trio of league doubleheaders.  The ECSU women's teams takes on the three CIAA foes prior to the men's contests.
 
UNC Pembroke goes on the road Monday to Columbus State for a Peach Belt Conference battle at 7:30 p.m.