ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.– The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball drops its conference opener to Elizabeth City State University 82-56 Saturday night. 

 The Rams moved to (3-8, 0-1 CIAA) on the season.

Tyre Boykin led the Rams with 16 points, followed by Micah Jones with 14 points. 

Quick Inside the Numbers
The Rams went 21-of-65 from the field, 7-of-13 from the free-throw line, and 7-of–21 from three. They grabbed 32 rebounds, and scored 24 points in the paint, had 14 forced turnovers, 15 points off turnovers, 10 fast break points, and 17 bench points.

How It Happened 
In the first half, Tyre Boykin gave the Rams an early 6-2 lead (18:08), on back-to-back three-pointers. ECSU went on an 18-0 run, taking a 20-6 lead (12:35). A Khyelle Ingram three-pointer stopped the run cutting the score to 20-9 (12:18). The Vikings went on an 8-0 run, extending their lead to 28-9. The Rams answered back on a 7-0 run, making the score 28-16 on a Micah Jones three-pointer (7:14). With the score 30-19 ECSU, the Vikings went on a 6-0 run, pushing their lead to 36-19 with 3:40 remaining in the half. A Micah Jones lay-up cut the score to 36-23 with 2:19 remaining in the half. The Vikings took a 40-25 lead into halftime. 

In the second half, a Tyre Boykin three-pointer made the score 42-30 with (18:57). The Vikings answered back with a 6-0 run extending their lead to 48-30 (16:49). ECSU went on a 6-0 run, growing their lead to 65-43 (11:28). The Vikings went on another 6-0 run, as their lead grew to 78-47 with 5:16 remaining in the game. The Rams went on a 7-0 run, cutting the score 78-54 on a Masuan Moore-Byrant jumper with 1:53 remaining in the game. 

Up Next
The men will travel to Petersburg, Virginia on Tuesday, January 7th, taking on Virginia State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the Multipurpose Center.