Box Score Box Score

TAMPA, FL – In a game that looked nothing like a typical contest for the 2011-2012 Chowan Hawks, Quinton McDuffie scored 15 points and Kyree Bethel drained a career-high 12 to lead the Hawks to a 53-49 victory over the University of Tampa on Monday.  Chowan moves above .500 for the first time this season and now stands at 6-5.  Tampa falls to 2-7.
 
The 53 points is a season low for Chowan, who came in averaging 77.8 points per game.  The 49 points scored by Tampa, though, was also a season-best for the Hawks defense.
 
The slow-paced game saw just eight total fast break points and 17 free throws attempted, both uncharacteristic for the Hawks this season.
 
McDuffie shot 6-12 from the floor for Chowan and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.  Bethel, who scored a then-career high nine points on Saturday, drained four three pointers to finish with 12 points.  The Hawks shot 8-19 (42.1%) from the three-point line for the game.
 
Neither team shot the ball particularly well to open the game, as the score was locked at 7-7 six minutes in.  A Ted Amendola jumper gave the Spartans their first lead of the half at the 12:21 mark, 11-9. 
 
Chowan then turned to the three-point line.  Over a 3 minute, 14 second span, the Hawks drained four straight treys to give them a 23-16 advantage.  Bethel drained all three of his attempts during the spurt, and McDuffie made the other for Chowan.
 
The Spartans responded to the barrage by going on an offensive tear themselves, connecting on six of their next eight shots to tie the game at 28 with under a minute to play in the half.  Chris Williams put in a layup late in the half to give Chowan a 30-28 lead going into halftime.
 
Only six fouls were called in the first half, leading to six free throw attempts.  The Hawks went just 0-2 at the charity stripe in the half.
 
The second half was just as closely played as the first.  A 7-2 run, capped by a Ricardo Martin layup, gave Chowan a slim 40-37 lead with 11:48 to play.  Lee Branscome then connected on a jumper with 8:54 on the clock to give Chowan a 45-39 lead, their largest of the second half.
 
Once again, however, the Spartans would not go quietly.  Over the next 5 minutes, 25 seconds, Tampa hit a pair of threes as part of a 10-4 stretch to tie the game at 49 with three and a half minutes to play.
 
Tampa's offense suddenly went cold from that point on, though, missing their final five shots of the game.  Chowan did not execute much better from the floor down the stretch.  The Hawks were able to attempt just three shots over the final 5:26, misfiring on all three.  The difference was that Chowan got to the free throw line, while Tampa did not. 
 
Chowan made four of eight free throw attempts down the stretch to hold on the lead and come away with the victory, their sixth in eight games.
 
Mark McGlone, James Davis, and Lee Branscome each scored five points for the Hawks.  Ted Amendola led Tampa with 18 points on 7-9 shooting.  Ashton graham netted 17 and Corey Pelot pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Chowan will next play at West Virginia Wesleyan College on Friday, December 30^th.  Tip-off is set for 6:00pm.