JANUARY, 1967
THE COMPASS
PAGE FIVE
''Vengeance
Vikings Bounce Back
What started out to be a surprisingly victorious year--when the
Vikings took a 3-I record into the Christmas holidays, and swept
everything in the Fort Eustis Tourney before bowing to Hampden-
Sydney in the finals - suddenly turned to disaster as the cagers
hit skid row in January. Coaches John Turpin and Alvin Kelly took
things in stride in an effort to ready the freshmen cagers for the
final stretch. In the meantime, the young cagers’ greeness caught
up with them as they lost seven contests in January, five in a row.
Their lone 101-86 victory over Fayetteville State was complete
ly overshadowed by losses to North Carolina A. & T. College
(84-76); St. Augustine College (85"80); Winston-Salem State, twice
by scores of (98*91 and 103-94); Hampton Institute (70-64); Norfolk
State (107-78); and Virginia Union University (75-68). Out of it all,
it was evident that the Vikings had the potential to win; only time
would bring this fact to the forefront. Behind the scenes of con
stant practice, and amid the atmosphere of gloom, coaches Turpin
and Kelly worked overtime to overhaul the badly damaged ship of
Elizabeth City State. During the process, two veteran cagers were
cut from the team, and sterner disciplinary measures were im
posed. Yet, seemingly, nothing worked.
But on February 2, 1967, the ground hog saw his shadow and
the Vikings began to see the shadow of the coming C.I.A.A. tour
nament looming overhead. Then, lodged in tenth place, two rungs
out of a possible berth, the Vikings began to cry, "Vengeance
is ours, we shall repay.” Knowing that six of the seven victors
had beaten them by less than ten points, a new determination
filled the air, and hope lit the eyes of the sharpshooters.
Strengthened by the return of injured captain Douglas Brown to
the lineup, the advanced freshmen cagers braced themselves for
the final drive in February. Facing Hampton Institute on Feb
ruary 4th, the Vikings, cried louder and sought to avenge the loss
to the Pirates at Hampton last month. Brown’s 16 points paved the
way as the Vikings trounced Hampton, 79*59.
Brown, the lanky 6*7 senior, Stantonburg, N. C., got ample sup
port from co-captain Freddie Lewis, 5-7 junior, Brooklyn, N. Y.,
who scored 15 points. The Vikings’ balanced attack was supported
by Oscar Smith, 6*7 junior, Washington, N. C., as he grabbed 22
rebounds and scored I3 points to round out the double figure
scoring. Getting ample support by the freshmen cagers: Israel
Oliver, Chesapeake, Va.; Melvin McCann, Bronx, N. Y.; Alonzo
Custis, Chesapeake; Robert Chadwick, Norfolk, Va.; Bobby Lewis,
Williamston, N. C.; Kenneth Chesson, Chesapeake; and with soph*
omore, Roy Belfield, Roanoke Rapids, N. C., coming through, the
Vikings carried a 37-26 lead into intermission. The Pirates, re
lying on the lonestar efforts of Wilbert Allen who topped all scorers
with 24 points, were unable to come from behind, as the Vikings
really poured it on Hampton in the second half.
The revengeful victory over Hampton set off a chain reaction
which propelled the Vikings to their longest winning streak of the
season to date, six consecutive victories.
A classic example of their balance in scoring and of the offen
sive potential came when they ran up and down the court with the
Broncos, allowing them 93 points, while they hit the nets for 119
points. The victory ove^ Fayetteville State was by far their big
gest show of offensive punch as six players hit in double figures.
Led by captain Lewis (24), and followed by Belfield (21), the
cagers stormed to a 15 pwint, 66'51i lead at intermission. Oliver
(16), Smith (14), and Brown (12) began to round out the attack be
fore Custis was sent in to add his ten points. The Fayetteville
Broncos never came close to tying the score in the second half,
as the Vikings again took full advantage of their home court.
The Shaw University Bears made a serious attempt to avenge
the 94-82 loss which they suffered here in December as they came
from behind in the first half to knot the score at 41*41. Away from
home, the Vikings were made to realize that nothing but their best
could assure victory. Ignited by Lewis, the Brooklyn bomber, who
scored 25 points, and put in orbit by the hook shots of the "Big O”
Smith, Elizabeth City regained the lead in the second half. Support
from Brown (12), and Oliver (12) was enough to counter the attack
by Shaw’s Nath. Joyner, who pumped in 32 points. The Vikings
narrowly escaped, winning 80*75-
Trailing by nine points, 49*40, at the end of the first half, the
high fouling Falcons of St. Augustine’s College continued the
Raleigh tradition of scaring the Vikings as they put up a good fight
before tumbling, 91*85- Using a full court press that shocked the
Vikings and stopped the ball from moving down court, the Falcons
cut the lead to just one point, 82*81, with 2:48 remaining in the
contest. Thanks to Lewis, Belfield, and the charity line for helping
the Vikings pull this one out of the fire. Again the five man, double
figure scoring made the difference as Belfield (23), Lewis (17),
Smith (15), Oliver (13), and Chesson (10) were too much for the
Falcons to handle, despite fine performances from three of their
cagers.
Having bowed to the Panthers, 75*68, at home, no one thought
the Vikings would be able to defeat Virginia Union University on
the Belgian Building hardwood. With "Vengeance is ours...”
ringing through the jungles, the Panthers tasted defeat early as the
Vikings hacked their way to a 47-28 lead at intermission. Mike
Davis, the second cop scorer in the C.I.A.A., and a national
scoring leader, brought the Richmonders back into the- game.
Co-captains Brown (20) and Lewis (I9) opened the alley for Smith
(12) and Belfield (10) to take up the slack, do their damage, and
secure the lead. The Vikings managed to topple the first division
Panthers, 76*71-
Elizabeth City State College, still battling for a possible berth
in next month’s C.I.A.A. tournament, swept to t^eir sixth straight
victory as they nipped Delaware State College, 83*74- A near ca*
pacity crowd watched Belfield spark the Vikings’ attack with 26
points, sparking the attack from the beginning as the cagers pulled
to a 43-35 lead at the half. Smith (14), Oliver (12), and Lewis (11)
kept the lowly but red hot Hornets from pulling an upset as cap
tain Brown kissed the hardwood good-bye on his last home ap
pearance of the season. With two more contests remaining on the
road against A & T College and Norfolk State, the cry remains,
more than ever, '’Vengeance is ours, we shall repay.
is Ours,’’The Vikings
Captains in Action
1
THE JUMPER - Douglas Brown, 6-7 senior captain, Stantonburg,
N. C., gets off his favorite jump shot from around the key against
the Rams of Winston-Salem to help give the Vikings a seven point
lead. His return to the lineup, following recovery from a knee in
jury, was a big factor in the Vikings six game winning streak.
SMILES - The smiles ot cheerleaders Elizabeth Strickland '67 and
Nina Bullock '68 were enough to send co-captains Douglas Brown
and Freddie Lewis to do the job against the opponents on the road.
Even when victory was denied the Vikings, the smiles of Strick
land and Bullock were enough to enable Brown and Lewis to over-
Leaders in
Statistics
Thanks to the efforts of But
ler Sharpe, III, team statistician,
this column is able to give you a
better picture of the Vikings’
basketball team. The partial
statistics ends with the Vikings
firstofsix consecutive victories.
The remaining five victories are
accounted for in the article,
"Vikings Bounce Back To Win
Six Games,” which appears on
this page. This report gives
some of the cumulative totals for
15 games which gave the Vikings
a 5*8 record in the C.I.A.A., 6*9
overall. As this page goes to the
press the Vikings are now 10*8
in the conference, II-9 overall.
PLAYER
FG
FT
Points
Lew is
108
102
318
Brown
72
19
163
Smith
90
45
229
Oliver
101
27
219
Custis
37
8
96
Belf ie Id
36
19
85
McCann
24
14
62
Includes Players
Not Listed
Here
TOTALS
499
250
1262
OPPONENTS 502
227
1271
PLAYER
F.G. Pet.
F.T. Pet. Pt.Avg,
McCann
.774
B. Lew is
-750
Oliver
-671
.628
14.46
Brown
-566
.576
14.81
Belfield
.554
.792
6.97
Lew is
-688
21.20
Chesson
.667
Smith
15.26
THE DRIBBLER: Freddie Lewis, 5*7 junior co*captain, Brooklyn,
N- Y., displays his tricky dribbling ability in an attempt to keep
the Rams puzzled and control the ball. With eyes pointed in one
direction and ball going in the other, no one knows what the Drib*
bier will do next. Lewis shoots as well as he dribbles, a threat
indeed!
Viking Matmen
Win at Home
The Elizabeth City State
College matmen opened their
1967 home wrestling campaign
in Williams Hall gymnasium with
a big, 30*20 victory over the
Spartans of Norfolk State College.
In an attempt to build interest
in the sport and to enlighten the
fans, the athletic department an*
nounced a continuation of the no
admission policy to all wrestling
events. This comes at a time
when four year veteran mentor.
Coach Roy Knight, is looking
forward to capturing the CIAA
Championship.
With nine veterans returning
from last year’s team which com
piled a 4*4*1 record, the Vikings
have the potential to make
a strong bid for the belt. Head
ed by captain Julius Webb, 145
pound senior from Roper, who
captured third place in last
year’s CIAA tournament, Eliza
beth City State appears to be
well experienced in all the weight
categories.
Other returning veterans who
captured the spotlight in last
year’s tournament are Ernest
Sutton, 123 pound sophomore,
Elizabeth City; William Hill, 140
pound senior, Nashville, and
Wayne Holmes, 167 pound senior, .
Smithfield, Va.
Eric Keyes, 130 pound New
Yorker, spearheads the Vikings
freshmen contingent. Keyes
came to Elizabeth City State
after winning the VUSCO cham*
pionship for three years while
a student at Port Jervis High
School. The young wrestler com*
piled an amazing 28-7 record on
the secondary level.
With a strong freshman group
and experienced upperclassmen,
the Vikings have plenty of depth.
Other home contests include
meetings with: Morgan State
College, Feb. 18th; Virginia
State College, Feb. 22nd; and
Norfolk State, Feb. 28th.