INSTITUTE, W.Va. - - Men's basketball dropped its season opener against Elizabeth City State University, 85-68, on Friday in the opening game of the Earl Lloyd Classic.

UVa-Wise (0-1) started out strong, going on an 8-0 run to start the game. The Cavaliers maintained the lead for the majority of the first half before the Vikings (1-0) cut the Cavs lead to one point, 22-21, with a little over eight minutes left in the half.  

Despite early momentum for the Cavaliers, ECSU was able to extend their lead to 37-26 following a three-pointer by Vikings' John Maynor. Another made three-pointer by Maynor would give the Vikings their largest lead of the half, going up 46-30 over the Cavs with 1:22 left on the clock. The Cavs would go into halftime down, 46-32.

Sophomore point guard Michal Seals and forward Tajh Eason led the Cavs with eight points apiece to close out the half. UVa-Wise shot just 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from the field while the Vikings shot 54.3 percent (19-of-35) and made 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from beyond the arc in the opening half.

The Cavs attempted to make a comeback in the second half, cutting the Vikings' lead to nine points, 50-41, behind a layup by sophomore guard Chance Sheffey with 17:55 on the clock. UVa-Wise continued to battle, only down six points following a three-pointer by sophomore forward Yesid Mosquera-Perea.

Missed shots and fouls by the Cavs allowed the Vikings to extend the lead once again, taking their largest lead of the night, 69-53, with 8:09 left to play. ECSU shot 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from the floor in the second half as the Vikings pulled away with an 85-68 win.

UVa-Wise shot 19-of-46 (41.3 percent) and hit just 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) three-pointers on the night while going 24-of-33 (72.7 percent) from the free-throw line. The Vikings went 33-of-58 (56.9 percent) overall, making 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) free throws in their win.

Eason led the Cavs with 15 points along with two steals and three rebounds while Seals scored 14 points for the Cavs and recorded six assists. Senior forward Dimitri Sousa shot 4-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, as he finished with 11 points on the night.

The Cavs will return to action tomorrow afternoon in the final day of the Earl Lloyd Classic as they take on Johnson C. Smith University. Game time is slated for 2 p.m.

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