Box Score INSTITUTE, WV- The Chowan University men's basketball team dropped a 75-71 decision to West Virginia State University on Friday in the opening day of play at the Earl Lloyd Conference Challenge.  The Hawks begin the year 0-1 while the Yellow Jackets post a 1-0 record after Friday's game. 

Jeremy Smith paced the Hawks with 16 points in the setback.  Carlos Arroyo notched 14 points while Warren Powers and Joe Goodwin tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively.  Powers also grabbed 10 rebounds in the contest (four offensive, six defensive). 

Markee Mazyck led all players in the contest with 24 points for West Virginia State.  Robert Fomby added 14 points and 10 rebounds (two offensive, eight defensive). 

Hank Edmonds opened the contest with a layup.  After exchanging points with the Yellow Jackets early in the first half, Goodwin's basket at the 14-10 mark gave the Hawks a 12-5 lead; their largest of the half.  Chowan held onto the advantage until the 6:15 mark when Fombry's three-pointer gave West Virginia State their first lead of the contest (24-22).  The Yellow Jackets continued to build on the momentum and extended their lead to as many as ten points (32-22) before heading into halftime with a 38-31 lead.

The Hawks used an 8-0 run at the start of the second half to take a 39-38 lead.  With the score tied 43-43 and 15:21 left in the game,  a 9-0 run by West Virginia State left the Hawks trailing 52-43 with 10:38 on the clock. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 14 points (60-46) before Chowan managed to orchestrate an 18-5 run of their own to pull within striking distance (65-64) with 2:42 remaining in the game.  The late run was not enough as West Virginia pulled away 70-64 before closing out the 75-71 win with Mazyck's free throw.

The Hawks return to action on Saturday when they take on UVA-Wise.  Tip-off is slated for 4:00pm.