MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Men's Basketball team was not able to complete the comeback as cross-town rival, Elizabeth City State, hit a three as time expired to win 71-68 in CIAA action Wednesday evening.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 68, Elizabeth City State 71

RECORDS | Chowan 8-12 (3-8), Elizabeth City State 10-11 (3-8)

LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Helms Center)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Trevis Buckhanon had a perfect night from the floor going 3-3 and 8-8 from the charity stripe for 14 points.  Buckhanon added eight rebounds on the night.  Robert Grubbs tallied 14 points hitting four triples.

Demetrius Sanders and Dino Muminovic notched double-figure scoring outings with 12 and 11 points each.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Chowan sputtered out of the gate as Robert Grubbs knocked down a trey to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead.  The Vikings would use a 26-5 run to take hold of the half.  Grubbs knocked down a three along with a jumper by Demetrius Sanders during the spurt.

Dino Muminovic connected from deep at the 10:53 mark to end the drought.  Tim Hewett knocked down a three to start a 12-2 run by the Hawks to trim the deficit to single-digits, 33-25.  Trevis Buckhanon scored five points during the run.

The Vikings pushed their advantage back to double-figures, 41-27 with 3:09 to play in the half.  The Hawks would once again trim the deficit to seven, 41-34, as Trevis Buckhanon converted from the line.  Dino Muminovic hit from deep and Gus Rowland knocked down a jumper.

ECSU went into the locker room with a nine point lead, 43-34.

Second Half:

Chowan scored the first seven points of the half as Robert Grubbs knocked down a three just 11 seconds into the half.  Dino Muminovic capped off the rally with a tip-in to close the gap to 43-41 with 17:26 to play.

Robert Grubbs drained another three to cut the deficit to one, but the Vikings answered at the other end.  The Vikings continued to keep the Hawks at-bay pushing the lead to seven, 57-50 midway through the half.

Chowan used a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the contest since the opening basket, 60-59.  Demetrius Sanders sparked the run with a dunk and a three pointer.  Gus Rowland put the Hawks on top briefly with a three from the top of the key.

The Hawks and Vikings traded baskets for the final five minutes of action as the score was tied twice, 62-62 and 68-all.

ECSU connected from deep to lead by four with under a minute to play.  Demetrius Sanders cut into the deficit with a dunk.  On the next possession, Sanders would force a turnover and hit a jumper to knot the contest at 68-all.

The Vikings were able to find the bottom of the net with 1.4 seconds left to escape with a 71-68 victory.

UP NEXT

Chowan travels to Petersburg, Va. to face nationally ranked Virginia State on Saturday, February 10.  Tip-off is at 4pm.