MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Men's Basketball team avenged their only loss of the season as the Hawks held off the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets at home in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 83, West Virginia State 76
RECORDS | Chowan 10-1, West Virginia State 5-7
LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Helms Center)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Chowan was led by Gus Rowland with 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Demetrius Sanders scored 19 points with seven rebounds and three blocks.
Michael Kelly registered a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Deon Joyner and Timothy Bing chipped in with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Chowan shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half and held the Yellow Jackets to 37.7 percent for the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
Both team jockeyed for the lead in the early going as Michael Kelly put the Hawks on the board followed by an old-fashioned three-point play by Timothy Bing to give the Hawks an early 5-3 lead.
WVSU would hold the slight advantage early as Michael Kelly and Demetrius Sanders scored a bucket each. Gus Rowland handed the lead back to the Hawks, 12-11, with a pair of free throws.
Back-to-back buckets by Deon Joyner allowed the Hawks to lead 16-13, but a 10-2 run by the Yellow Jackets forced a timeout by the Hawks, 23-18. Michael Kelly tallied the lone bucket during the stretch. WVSU would stretch their lead to 26-18, but the Hawks would not be turned away.
Chowan went on a 9-2 run to pull within one, 28-27, with 4:56 to play in the opening half. Gus Rowland started the run with a free throw. Brandon Mayhan continued the run before a jumper and a three-point play by Michael Kelly closed the gap.
After a pair of free throws by the Yellow Jackets, Gus Rowland knocked down a triple to even the score at 30-all.
Both teams traded free throws down the stretch before WVSU connected from deep to lead 40-38 at intermission.
Second Half:
Timothy Bing started off the scoring for the Hawks in the second half with a triple to even the contest at 41. WVSU went on a small run but Demetrius Sanders' triple closed the gap to one, 47-46. Sanders would connect from deep again to give the Hawks the one point advantage.
The two teams traded the lead and kept it a one possession contest until Demetrius Sanders pulled up from the baseline and connected to hand the lead to Chowan midway through the half, 59-57.
WVSU wouldn't be turned away fighting back for the lead. Deon Joyner put the momentum back on the Hawks with a dunk off an inbounds pass from Timothy Bing to even the score at 66-all.
A layup by Michael Kelly along with a dunk and a jumper by Demetrius Sanders gave the Hawks a four point lead, 72-68, with 3:44 to play.
Following a Timothy Bing jumper, WVSU closed the gap to one, 74-73, on a triple, but Michael Kelly converted down low and Gus Rowland knocked down a three-pointer to lead 79-73 with just over a minute to play.
Deon Joyner capped off the win with a dunk before Demetrius Sanders finished off the contest with a pair from the stripe.
UP NEXT
Chowan hits the road for a three-game swing to wrap up CIAA cross-divisional play as the Hawks face Johnson C. Smith, Winston-Salem State, and Livingstone starting on Thursday, January 10.
