ELIZABETH CITY, NC (Dec. 17, 2018) – Fayetteville State employed a fourth-quarter surge to escape the Robert L. Vaughan Center with a 59-59 CIAA victory over Elizabeth City State.
 
Junior forward Devona Stell notched a double-double with a team-high 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the Vikings (7-5, CIAA 2-2) and ECSU shot 50 per cent (seven for 14) from 3-point range, but Broncos used a rally in the middle of the final period to gain control of the contest.
 
Senior guard Jalyn Brown hit three of four shots from beyond the arc on her way to 13 points and three assists for the Vikings while freshman guard Asia Deal and junior forward Naterria Luster chipped in a dozen points apiece.  Junior guard DeNayia Holmes finished with six points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists.
 
Sophomore forward Aminata Johnson, who tallied 13 points and five rebounds, hit a pair of jumpers in the middle of an 8-2 spurt which staked he Broncos to a 60-52 lead with 6:41 remaining. Six points were as close the ECSU would get before FSU pulled away to lead by 13 points on a layup by Johnson in the final minutes.
 
Senior forward Yakima Clifton and junior guard Katisha Hyman paced FSU with 18 points apiece.  Clifton snared a team-high nine rebounds while Hyman dished out a team-high five assists.
 
Brown and Deal sandwiched 3-point jumpers around a pair of inside baskets by Stell as ECSU closed out the first half on a 10-1 run to seize a 37-31 advantage.  The Vikings limited the Broncos to a free throw over the final five minutes.  Brown, Deal and Holmes connected on two long-range jumpers each during the first 20 minutes as ECSU sank six of 11 shots from beyond the arc.  Hyman carried FSU during the opening half with 14 points.
 
Brown knocked down a mid-range jumper and a 3-point dagger in the final minute of the opening quarter to stake the Vikings to a 22-18 edge.
 
It took the Broncos less than four minutes to erase the ECSU in the third period and the lead see-sawed to the end of the quarter before a Drumgoole jump shot gave the visitors a 52-50 lead entering the final 10 minutes.
 
ECSU returns to action following the fall semester final examination period with a non-conference doubleheader at Bluefield State on Dec. 30.  The Viking women tip off against the Big Blues at 3 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 5.
 
Fayetteville State hosts Augusta University on January 2.