Box Score Box Score

MURFREESBORO – Stifling first half defense, along with efficient outside shooting, led the Chowan University men's basketball team to a convincing 92-69 victory over the Newport News Apprentice School on Wednesday.  Playing in their 2011-2012 home opener, the Hawks drained 10 three-pointers and limited the Builders to just five first half field goals.
 
Lee Branscome and James Davis each nailed four three-pointers for Chowan (3-4).  Davis scored 14 points for the game, while Branscome finished with 13.  Coming into tonight, Chowan was averaging just 4.6 made three pointers per contest.  “When you play teams that press a lot like Apprentice does, you will get some open looks on the wing,” said Chowan Head Coach Dan DeRose.  “I talked with both of those guys (Branscome and Davis) before the game and told them to let it fly if they got open looks.  They stepped up tonight and knocked down those open looks.”
 
Antonio Reddic notched his fourth double-double of the season with 23 points and ten rebounds.  He also added eight steals and five assists, while shooting 9-17 from the floor.  Junior Chris Williams had a breakout game, recording 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
 
Chowan, which never trailed in the game, darted out to a quick 14-3 lead behind two Davis treys and an alley-oop dunk from Reddic.  Consecutive Branscome threes gave Chowan a 23-9 lead with 10:27 on the clock in the first half.  “Shooting threes like we did tonight puts a lot of pressure on the defense to get out on shooters, which leaves driving lanes open for us to slash to the basket,” added DeRose.
 
Davis' fourth three-pointer of the half put the Hawks up 33-15 with four minutes to play.  The Builders (5-2) responded right back with an 8-0 run over the next 1:14 to cut the Hawks lead to ten.  Chowan ended the half, however, on an 11-2 spurt, aided by 4-4 shooting from the free throw line during the final 34 seconds.
 
In the second half, the Apprentice School found their offensive groove, making seven of their first ten shots, and surpassing their first half field goal total just 4:18 into the half.  Chowan's offense was just as good, though, connecting on seven of their first 12 shots to maintain a 61-41 lead with 14:18 to play.
 
Two Reddic free throws at the 8:06 mark gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game at 77-51.  The Builders cut that deficit to 16 later in the half, but Mark McGlone scored five straight points in a 48 second span to thwart any comeback attempt.  McGlone finished with nine points and shot 7-8 from the charity stripe.
 
Chowan shot 43.2% from the floor and 90% (18-20) from the free throw line.  The Builders, by comparison, shot just 59.3% from the free throw line.  Chowan out-rebounded the Apprentice School 50-39 and scored 22 second chance points.
 
“Our three wins this season have all been pretty substantial,” said DeRose.  “We focus on putting teams away and not letting them come back on us.  These wins give us confidence, but we understand that we cannot become over-confident.”
 
Isaih Harrison, who is averaging a double-double this season, continued his stellar play with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Builders.  Tevin Andrews added nine points and eight rebounds.
 
Chowan will host Allen University on Saturday, December 3^rd at 2:00pm.