Cornellius Reynolds Food Lion
Donald Watkins
Cornellius Reynolds was named the Food Lion MVP
60
Elizabeth City St. ECSU-M 12-17
70
Winner Claflin CLAFMBB 14-15
Elizabeth City St. ECSU-M
12-17
60
Final
70
Claflin CLAFMBB
14-15
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Elizabeth City St. ECSU-M 25 35 0 60
Claflin CLAFMBB 36 24 10 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Anthony Jeffries

Claflin Outscore Elizabeth City State 10-0 in Overtime to Secure CIAA Tournament First-Round Game

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Cornellius Reynolds finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds as Claflin University dominated overtime to beat Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), 70-60, in a CIAA Tournament men's basketball first-round game at Bojangles' Coliseum on Tuesday.
 
The Panthers (14-15 overall), seeded fourth in the Southern Division, outscored the Vikings 10-0 in the extra session to get the win. Their victory set up a date with Northern Division top seed Virginia State in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m.  The loss ended the season for the Vikings (12-17 overall), the No. 5 Northern Division seed.
 
Reynolds scored six points in overtime as the Panthers re-gained control after losing an 11-point halftime lead. The Panthers won at the free throw line, where they were 8 of 9 in the extra period. For the contest, the Panthers made 23 of 31 free throws for 74.2 percent while the Vikings were 10 of 12 for 83.3 percent.
 
Letrell West added 13 points and Donnell Frayer, Jr. scored 12 points for the Panthers. The reserves helped spur the win as the Panthers outscored the Vikings 25-9 in bench points. Rodney Prichard scored nine points, and Romero Hill and Brandon Davis each chipped in six points.
 
Justin Faison of ECSU led all scorers with 29 points, including 17 in the second half to spark a Vikings' comeback, who trailed 36-25 at halftime. 
 
The Panthers scored the first bucket of the second half for a 13-point lead, but the Vikings managed to tie the game at 54-54 with 6:08 remaining on Faison's three-pointer.
 
Faison nailed two free throws for a 58-54 Vikings' lead with 2:33 left in regulation, but the Panthers re-gained the lead at 59-58. Faison hit a turnaround jumper to put the Vikings back ahead by one with 28 seconds remaining, but Reynolds made one of two free throws with six seconds left to send the game into overtime.
 
"I knew it was going to be a tough outing against Elizabeth City, Coach Walker has done a great job for a long time in this league," said Claflin head coach Dr. Ricky Jackson.  "I'm proud of my team and the effort they put out.  We were up early and I knew they were going to make runs, I knew Faison was going to put them on his back and he carried them as much as he could but I also knew that my guys were going to come through."
 
Claflin took control early in the first half, opening a 15-point lead before taking a double-digit lead into halftime. Reynolds and Prichard both scored seven points and West registered six points for Claflin, which shot 55.6 percent in the first half. Faison had 12 first-half points for the Vikings, which made 33.3 percent of their buckets.
 
The Vikings rallied back by shooting 52.2 percent in the second half while the Panthers shot 30 percent.
 
Game Note: Reynolds was named the Food Lion MVP of the game.
 
Print Friendly Version