Box Score ELIZABETH CITY, NC- Vikings fight until the final seconds but drop home-opener to the University of Charleston 63-61.
 
ECSU shot 38.2 percent (21 of 55) from the field, 14.3 percent (2 of 14) from behind the arc, and 77.3 percent (17 of 22) at the line. 
 
University of Charleston shot 45.1 percent from the field (23 of 51), made 22.7 percent (5 of 22) behind the arc, and went 75 percent (12-16) at the line.
 
A huge presence for the Vikings, especially down the stretch in the final seconds, came from Freshman guard Jayden Beloti (Apex, MD), who led the team in scoring with 18 points. Senior guard Zaccheus Hobbs (Maysville, NC) was right behind him with a 17-point performance and a perfect shooting night at the line 6-of-6. 
 
Senior forward Brandon Beloti (Apex, NC) led the Vikings rebounding efforts with eight boards, while junior guard Sai Fisher (New Orleans, LA) led the Vikings in steals totaling four. 
 
Eddie Colbert III led the Golden Rams in scoring and rebound with 18 points and 12 boards. 
 
The Vikings are a team that takes a lot of shots and can usually get a handful to go from beyond the arc, but only knocked down a pair of threes and ended the first half shooting just 32 percent. 
 
Charleston maintained a lead for most of the first half, while the Vikings were offensively up and down. Despite the inconsistencies, ECSU managed to make it a single-point game at the 4:19 mark off a dunk from Brandon Beloti cut the Golden Eagles lead to 43-23. Despite the push, some costly turnovers down the stretch sent the golden Eagles into halftime up 33-26.
 
The Golden Rams quickly regained their double-digit lead at the start of the second half. However, at the 7:48 mark, a layup from Jayden Belotti eased the bruising and brought the Vikings within 5-points of Charleston. 
 
Unfortunately, with 2:35 left in the game, Charleston had found their way back to a 10-point lead. But with under a minute and a half left in the game, fans were introduced to the Jayden Beloti. Belotti scored eight of the Vikings 12 points in the final 78 seconds of the game, nailing quick layups and even slamming one down. Hobbs scored four points in the final 32 seconds of the game, highlighted by a basket at the end of regulation, but the Vikings last-minute hustle would not be enough giving the golden Rams the 63-61 win.
 
The Vikings will be back in action on Sunday, November 28th^, at Chowan University. Tip-off is slated for 2 PM.
 
Follow Elizabeth City State Athletics via its official website at www.ecsuvikings.com to get pre-and post-game stories and updates.
 
ECSU Athletics is also on social media, follow us on Twitter at @ECSUVikings and Instagram at @ecsusports