ECSU EARNS 78-76 WIN OVER DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA April J. Emory 1/03/11 Vikings Hot Shooting Barely Enough as in Two Point Win CHARLOTTE, NC- Marquie Cooke sank two free throws with eight seconds remaining to lift the Elizabeth City State University Vikings to a 78-76 win over the University of the District of Columbia Monday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Arena. Appearing in his first game since December 4th, Cooke scored all eight of his points in the second half as the Viking reserves outscored the UDC bench 21-0 in the second half. ECSU held a decisive 32-2 advantage in bench scoring and dominated the paint 46-26. The Firebirds displayed hot shooting from long range connecting on 10 of 25 attempts from downtown, a season high for the Viking opponents this season. ECSU shot a season high 63% from the field including a whopping 80% (21-26) in the first half. The two teams were almost even in rebounding with 33 for UDC to 32 for ECSU. It was a back and forth affair with 15 lead changes nine of which came before the intermission. Quintin Spady scored a season best 16 points, scoring 14 points in the first half. Behind Spady, ECSU took a 47-39 lead into the locker room at halftime. Trent Bivens also poured in 16 points while Rondy Tucker and Jaron Moore chipped in with 10 points apiece. Nigel Munson was the game’s high man with 24 points in a losing effort as the Firebirds drop to 1-10 on the season. ECSU (6-2) will open up their conference schedule on January 6th when they welcome Livingstone College to the RL Vaughan Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30pm.