Patterson finished the night with 14 points, hitting personal best four shots from beyond the three point arc.
Angelo Sharpless scored a game high 20 points. He also grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.
Fortunately for the Vikings all of Patterson’s scoring came in the second half of the three point victory. The Hawks and Vikings battled back and forth in the final 20 minutes with neither team holding more than a five point advantage and the lead changing seven times.
The Hawks (7-19, CIAA 1-13) dominated the post matchup against the Vikings 30-16 and held a 14-5 advantage in bench points. Chowan led by a score of 29-28 at halftime.
The Vikings went up 40-35 at the 13:24 mark but the Hawks responded with an 11-5 run and took their first lead of the second half on two free throws by Quinton McDuffie. Over the next two possessions, the teams traded three-pointers, one by Patterson, the other by Kyree Bethel which gave the Hawks their final lead of the game 49-48.
Patterson’s second consecutive three-ball put the Vikings in front for good even though the game was decided in the final minute of play.
After a Chris Williams layup trimmed ECSU’s lead to 56-55 with 25 seconds to go, the Hawks were forced to foul Patterson who sealed the win with his only free throws of the night.
In the low scoring game every point was precious especially in light of the absence of free throws on both sides. The two teams combined to shoot only 15 from the charity stripe on Saturday; the Hawks went 5-6 while ECSU shot 8-9.
ECSU (12-12, CIAA 6-8) will return to action on Monday when they travel to face Virginia State University. Game time is scheduled for 7:30pm. Follow ECSU on Twitter @ECSUVikings and visit www.ecsuvikings.com
