Box Score MURFREESBORO, NC- The Chowan University men's basketball team snapped a four game losing streak in thrilling fashion on Thursday evening with a 72-69 overtime victory over the visiting Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith Universiy.  The CIAA crossover win was the first regular season league victory for the Hawks since a 61-49 win over Virginia State on February 25^th, 2012.  Additionally, Chowan earned their first victory over Johnson C. Smith since 2010 when they ousted the Golden Bulls from the CIAA Tournament with a 74-46 win.   Until Thursday, the Hawks had never beaten Johnson C. Smith in the regular season.  
 
Kortez Smith led all players in the game with 23 points in the win while also notching a team-high six assists.  He also sunk three critical free throws win one second left in overtime to secure the win for Chowan.  Kyree Bethel and Phoenix Butler-Poole each chipped in 12 points for the Blue and White with Bethel draining four three-pointers.  Ashante Ross hauled in 11 rebounds (four offensive, seven defensive). 
 
For the Golden Bulls, Emilio Parks notched 18 points in the loss while Joshua Linson and LaMarquis Letchaw added 12 and 10 points respectively.  Johnson C. Smith shot 52.1% on the evening while holding the Hawks to a 39.1 field goal percentage.  However, critical shots by Chowan combined with 20 second chance points, and 39 bench points contributed to the victory. 
 
The Hawks led the entire first half of the game and maintained a comfortable 37-30 advantage heading into halftime.  Johnson C. Smith chipped away at the deficit at the start of the second half and used a layup by Alandre Davis at the 14:24 mark to take a 43-42 lead; their first of the game.  The Hawks grabbed the momentum back with 10:04 left in regulation after a three pointer by Bethel gave Chowan a 48-46 advantage. 
 
Both teams exchanged baskets over the next eight minutes of play.  The Hawks held a narrow 58-56 lead with 2:44 remaining, but a three pointer by Joshua Linton returned the advantage to Johnson C. Smith.  Trailing 65-61 with just nine seconds left, a lay-up by Butler-Poole brought the Hawks within two points with four seconds to spare.  Smith used an offensive rebound from Bethel's missed three pointer to ice the game 65-65 right at the buzzer and force the contest into overtime. 
 
The first three minutes of overtime proved to be a scoring dry spell for both teams as Chowan and Johnson C. Smith failed to make a basket.  With the Hawks leading 69-66 at the 1:07 mark, a trey by Letchaw for the Golden Bulls knotted the game once more.  On Chowan's next possession, a Johnson C. Smith foul led to three free throw opportunities for Kortez Smith.  He drained all three to hand the Golden Bulls the 72-69 loss. 
 
Chowan returns to their home court again on Saturday when they host Winston-Salem State in a CIAA crossover match-up.  Game time is slated for 4:00pm.