ELIZABETH CITY, NC- The Vikings defeated the Panthers of Virginia Union University 74-72 Wednesday night.

The Vikings improve to 11-8 overall on the season, 4-3 in the CIAA.

Freshman guard Jahzeer Baker (Winterville, NC) showed up and flexed big for the Vikings leading the offense with a season-high of 21 points.
 
Junior guard Justin Faison (Waldorf, MD) followed up with 13 points, senior forward Tyjhai Byers (Bethesda, MD) added 11 points, and senior guard Destin Dunton (Panama City, FL) and junior forward Darius Webster (Harlem, NY) rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Vikings with 10 points each.
 
Webster also led the Vikings rebounding efforts with nine rebounds just shy of a double-double.

Terrell Leach led the Panthers in scoring with 16 points.
 
ECSU shot 50 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from behind the arc, and 79.2 percent at the line.
 
VUU shot 45.5 percent from the field, 23.5  percent from behind the arc, and 81.8 percent at the line. 

Both teams played neck and neck for most of the first stanza, but an 11-2 run by the Panthers gave VUU a 36-27 lead with 1:49 left to play in the first half.
 
The Vikings maintained their composure ending the half on a 9-2 run; highlighted by huge three-pointer at the buzzer from the other end of the floor beyond the half court mark at the hands of Faison.
 
ECSU trailed the Panthers 39-36 at the half but stole the momentum in perfect timing and style.
 
The second half of action endured a series of lead changes and a total of eight ties before the Vikings left their final stamp on the game. 
 
Once again Faison stepped up for ECSU coming away with a steal on defense to score the layup off the Fastbreak with 21 secs left in regulation to give the Vikings the 74-72 victory.
 
The Vikings will take on the Trojans of Virginia State University on Saturday, January 25th. Tip off is slated for 4 pm.