BELMONT, N.C. – The furious comeback by the Chowan Men's Basketball team against the third-ranked team in the region, Belmont Abbey, fell short on the road in Conference Carolinas action on Tuesday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 76, Belmont Abbey 86
RECORDS | Chowan 3-4 (1-2), Belmont Abbey 6-2 (2-0)
LOCATION | Belmont, N.C. (Wheeler Center)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
BJ McLaurin produced his fourth straight double-double and sixth game with double-digit rebounds with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Ja'Darien Wade led the Hawks with 19 points, five rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Brandon Mayhan missed his first shot but connected on seven of his next eight to score 15 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
Chowan jumped out to an early 6-2 lead as BJ McLaurin started the scoring with a pair from the stripe. Jaylen Dilliard and Ja'Darien Wade added a bucket each before Belmont Abbey found their stroke from deep to lead 13-8.
Over the next 10 minutes of action, Belmont Abbey took control of the contest outpacing the Hawks 31-14. BJ McLaurin added a bucket to halt the initial run before connecting from deep. Ja'Darien Wade knocked down a trey along with a layup by Jaylen Dilliard.
Belmont Abbey pushed their lead to 41-22 before Ja'Darien Wade connected from behind the arc. Brandon Mayhan added a bucket and a three pointer along with a triple by Xavier Young to pull the Hawks to within 15, 49-34.
Brandon Mayhan added a bucket before the end of the half to trail 49-36 at the break.
Second Half:
Trejvon McFail put the Hawks on the board with the first bucket of the half with a three pointer. BAC answered with a triple of their own but Brandon Mayhan added a jumper and Ja'Darien Wade knocked down a three pointer to cut the deficit to single-digits, 52-44.
Four straight free throws for the Crusaders pushed their lead back to double-figures. Ja'Darien Wade posted a jumper to keep chipping away at the deficit. BJ McLaurin added a jumper to keep pace with the Crusaders as they answered at the other end.
Trejvon McFail and Ja'Darien Wade cut the deficit again to 10, 62-52. Xavier Young added a pair of layups to cut the deficit to seven, but the Crusaders would knock down a triple to push their lead back to double-digits.
Brandon Mayhan netted a jumper and Tahkey Williams converted the three-point play to trail 68-61 midway through the half. Belmont Abbey used a quick 6-0 run to push their lead back to double-digits. Jaylen Dilliard picked up a pair at the stripe and Williams added a putback layup.
BJ McLaurin and Tahkey Williams added a bucket each to pull the Hawks to within 10, 79-69 with five minutes to play. McLaurin added another layup following a Ja'Darien Wade block to cut the deficit back to single-digits and force a Belmont Abbey timeout.
Brandon Mayhan added a layup to continue the rally for the Hawks with 1:43 remaining. Ja'Darien Wade added a layup to cut the deficit to six, 81-75, with less than a minute to play.
The Hawks was stingy down the stretch defensively holding the Crusaders scoreless from the field as the Crusaders went 1-11 from the field. Both teams would foul late and trade points at the stripe.
UP NEXT
Chowan takes a step out of league play to take on Regent on Tuesday, December 10. Tip-off is slated for 6pm.
