A strong second half from Eastern Oklahoma State College (EOSC) defeated the Grayson Vikings 70-59 on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Offense was at a premium in the first half. The Viking defense held EOSC scoreless for the first two minutes of play, while offensively, the Vikings didn't get their first points until 1:30 in with Caleb Alcineus sinking a pair of free throws. Jordan Williams got the Vikings first field goal with 17:10 left in the first half for a 4-2 lead. The Vikings started the game on a 10-2 scoring run capped off with a tip-in from Gelonni Ervin in the early stages of the game. EOSC came back with five straight points, but Judah Peña and Davion Hampton answered back with jump shots to push the lead back out to seven headed to the under 12 minute media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Eastern went on a 7-0 scoring run to pull within two, but a Julian Greer three pointer gave the Vikings a 19-14 lead. Greer answered with another three a short time later to tie things at 22 and stop the EOSC scoring run. Greer made it eight straight points for him with a layup later in the quarter and Justin Oriakhi came up with an offensive rebound and hook shot just before the half to help the Vikings take a 26-25 into the locker room.
In the second half, Peña got the Viking offense started with an offensive rebound and layup to extend the Viking lead to 28-25. A 20-3 run from EOSC had the VIkings facing their largest deficit, as they trailed 45-33. Jordan Williams ended the run with a short jumper and the Vikings battled back, but EOSC had an answer nearly every time the Vikings score as the final score was 70-59 in favor of EOSC.
For the Vikings, Dupree Fletcher Jr led the way with 13 points, Hampton finished with 12 and Williams had 10. Peña finished two points shy of a double-double; he had eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Vikings will remain on the road, taking on Seminole State on Monday, Dec. 8 for a 5pm tip-off.