ELIZABETH CITY, NC (Dec. 4, 2018)- Junior forward John Maynor led a late Elizabeth City State rally, but Catawba held off the Vikings, 68-51, to complete an early-season, non-conference sweep in the Robert L. Vaughan Center.
 
Maynor netted nine of his game-high 20 points as the Vikings put together a 19-6 run to trim the Indians' lead to 53-41 with 7:55 remaining.  But a dozen points would be as close as ECSU would get.
 
The evening after connecting on a season-high 53.1 per cent of their field goals in a 77-69 win over Claflin to open its CIAA season, the Vikings (3-6) made just 16 of 56 field goal tries against the Indians (7-1) who posted their sixth victory in a row.  ECSU registered just two assists.
 
Catawba used an early 26-8 run to put ECSU in an 18-point deficit as they upended the Vikings for the second time in 18 days.  The Indians took an 86-65 win over the Vikings on November 17 in Salisbury.
 
Junior forward Daquan Lilly, who posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, poured in 10 points while junior forward Malik Constantine chipped in eight to fuel the decisive first-period run.  Lilly opened the spurt with a 3-point jumper and Constantine added two treys as the Indians notched five jumpers from beyond the arc during the outburst.
 
A Constantine layup with 14:14 left gave the Indians their biggest lead of the night at 47-22 before the Vikings staged their closing surge.
 
Maynor, who made three of the Vikings' four treys, added nine rebounds and four steals while junior center Joseph Allen hauled down a career-high 16 rebounds while netting seven points.  Sophomore guards Orlando Robinson and Justin Faison chipped in eight points apiece.
 
Constantine totaled 16 points, three rebounds and three assists for Catawba while senior guard Jameel Taylor contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
 
ECSU has a week to prepare for UNC Pembroke.  The Braves come to the Vaughan Center on Dec. 11 for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference clash.  Catawba hosts Mars Hill in a South Atlantic Conference game on December 15.