Final Stats

SALISBURY, NC – Junior guard Kelcyn Manurs scored a career-high 32 points Thursday but it wasn't enough to propel the Blue Bears to victory as Elizabeth City defeated Livingstone 70-59 in the conference opener for both teams.

Livingstone (4-8, 0-1) grabbed the first two points of the contest, but Elizabeth City battled back with a 7-0 run to take a 7-2 edge.  The Blue Bears were able to regain a slim 11-10 lead on a Manurs' three-pointer, but Elizabeth City followed that with a 17-0 run to take a 27-11 lead with 6:25 remaining in the first half.  The first-half lead for the Vikings peaked at 18 points before Elizabeth City took a 39-25 lead into the break.

Despite significantly better shooting in the second half, the Blue Bears weren't able to mount a substantial comeback.  Elizabeth City (7-4, 1-0) took its largest lead of the contest of 19 points with 12:20 remaining.  Livingstone was able to get within nine points with 5:47 remaining and within seven with 1:58 left, but the Vikings continued to hit clutch shots to negate a Blue Bear comeback.

Manurs' career-high 32 points came on 8-of-19 shooting from the field including 3-of-7 from three-point range and she converted 13-of-15 attempts from the charity stripe.  Jasmine Murray recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Blue Bears will now head out onto the road, kicking off a four-game road swing, starting with Lincoln (PA) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.