Box Score ELIZABETH CITY, NC- First half push drives ECSU to 2-0 record in CIAA play after tonight's 56-46 win over the Falcons of St. Augustine's University 

The Vikings improve to a 7-3 overall record, 2-0 in the CIAA. ECSU awaits Monday nights matchup against the Broncos of Fayetteville State University to shoot their shot at going 3-0 in conference play before stepping into 2022.
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ECSU shot 45.7 percent (21 of 46) from the field, 23.5  percent (4 of 17) from behind the arc, and 62.5 percent (10 of 16) at the line.
 
SAU shot 34.1 percent from the field (15 of 44), 41.7 percent (5 of 12) from behind the arc, and went 64.7 percent (11 of 17) at the line.
 
Freshman Jayden Beloti (Apex, NC) stepped up for the Vikings to lead ECSU in scoring with 17 points, while senior guard Gabe Kirkendoll (Jacksonville, NC) was right behind him with 15 points on the evening. Grad Student guard Zac Hobbs followed up with a 14 point performance. 

Senior forward Shykeef Daniels (Greenville, NC) led the Vikings in rebounding with nine.

Dhashon Dyson racked up 30 points for the Falcons to lead all scorers. Dyson and  Spencer Washington led the Falcons in rebounding with six each.

This week, the Vikings have dominated their opponents in the paint for back-to-back games; ECSU finished with a 34-16 scoring advantage over SAU off points in the paint.

Unfortunately, ECSU's turnover woes continued tonight; the Vikings turned the ball over 17 times. However, another bright spot for the Vikings was the team's ability to crash the boards and outrebound SAU 38-21.

Gabe Kirkendoll opened up scoring for the Vikings with a three-pointer, then Hobbs scored eight consecutive points for the Vikings, giving ECSU an 11-4 lead. Both Kirkendoll and Hobbs played high school hoops side by side and are undeniably key role players to this Vikings offense to watch as the season progresses. 

The Vikings ended the first half outscoring the Falcons 16-8, taking a comfortable 37-13 lead into halftime. 

The Viking's defense held the Falcons to only seven made field goals in the opening half, while ECSU shot 40 percent from the field and knocked down four three-pointers. Three of those three's came from Kirkendoll, who seemed to really find a solid rhythm tonight on the offensive side of the action.

ECSU stapled their largest game lead early in the second half, leading SAU by a 20-point margin (35-15). However, the Vikings may have got just a little too comfortable allowing SAU to score 13 unanswered points cutting the Vikings lead to single digits with 13:36 left to play. 

A considerable part of the Falcon's second-half success singlehandedly came from Dyson, who recorded 26 points in the half and scored all 10 of SAU's total free throws in the second half. 

An 8-0 run by the Vikings helped ECSU reclaim their double-digit lead. ECSU led SAU 45-31 with 9:33 left to play.

Despite the effort, SAU was not able to climb their way back into the game, and ECSU remained locked in to close out the contest clinching the 56-46 victory.

The Vikings will be back in action on Monday, December 20th^, against the Broncos of Fayetteville State University in the R.L. Vaughan Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 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