Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College senior Dominique Byrd produced 21 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots against his former team, and sophomore Danny Shand added 20 points and seven assists as the Bulldogs downed Elizabeth City State University, 78-62, in a non-conference meeting Wednesday at Wilson Gymnasium.
Byrd, who transferred from ECSU to Barton before the 2014-15 season, was 9-of-11 from the field, including three dunks, the first one on the very first play of the game. Shand scored 12 of his points in the first half in helping the Bulldogs (6-3) claim a 10-point halftime cushion.
Elizabeth City State (2-4) was paced by 22 points from DeCarlos Anderson, 15 of those coming in the second half.
Trailing 11-10 at the 13-minute mark of the first half, the Vikings went on a 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night, eight points, at 19-11 with 10:40 left before intermission. Miykael Faulcon sparked the ECSU run, scoring the first five points, and Barton assisted with four missed shots and a pair of turnovers.
Barton gradually pulled even with the Vikings, then went on a 15-3 run over the final five minutes of the half to take a 39-29 lead into the locker room. Shand scored six straight points during the spurt, and junior Tyler Thayer added five points. ECSU went 1-for-8 from the field over the span in falling behind.
James Theus made a layup for Elizabeth City State to open the second half, but Shand answered with a 3-pointer, starting another 16-5 run for the Bulldogs that put the game on ice. R.J. Claypool capped the spurt by scoring the last five points, giving BC a commanding 55-36 advantage with 12:39 remaining.
The Vikings struggled shooting the ball, particularly from 3-point range, where they were just 3 of 23 for the night (13 percent). Overall, ECSU shot 35 percent from floor (23 of 66) while Barton made 48 percent (29 of 60).
Thayer contributed 13 points in the Barton win and redshirt senior Ryan Canoy pulled down six rebounds. Jermaine Brown collected a team-high eight boards for the Vikings.
The victory was Barton's fourth its last five games. The Bulldogs will play their final game of 2015 on Saturday afternoon when they host Conference Carolinas foe Pfeiffer University in a 4 p.m. matchup.
