**Complete stats not available at time of release**

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It took everything the Chowan Men's Basketball team had in the opening game of the 2019 CIAA Basketball Tournament, but the Hawks came up just short to the "hometown" team, as Johnson C. Smith hit the game-winner with 2.6 seconds left in overtime on Monday evening.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 74, Johnson C. Smith 77 OT

RECORDS | Chowan 12-15, Johnson C. Smith 9-17

LOCATION | Charlotte, N.C. (Bojangles Coliseum)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Xavier Young netted a career-high 19 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc.  Gus Rowland poured in a game-high 24 points and six assists.

Michael Kelly totaled 13 points and eight rebounds.

Demetrius Sanders played his final game in the Blue and White grabbing eight rebounds and two blocks.

Chowan turned the ball over 20 times leading to 26 points for the Golden Bulls.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Neither team found offense early as Michael Kelly tallied the opening two points of the contest from the free throw line.  Kelly would knock down the jumper to give the Hawks a 4-0 lead.  The defense of the Hawks held JCSU off the board until the 15:35 mark as the Golden Bulls connected from the floor to take a 5-4 advantage.

Trejvon McFail would connect from deep to regain the lead.  Xavier Young started his scoring at the charity stripe with four freebies.  Gus Rowland knocked down a jumper to give the Hawks a 14-9 lead.  Timothy Bing recorded a bucket before the Golden Bulls closed the gap to one, 17-16.

Demetrius Sanders ended the run with a layup before JCSU took the one point advantage, 20-19, with 8:01 remaining in the half.  Timothy Bing evened the score at 22-all with a triple and Gus Rowland knocked down a triple himself for the lead.

Xavier Young banked in a three-pointer to push the advantage to four, 28-24.  Ugljesa Portic added a short jumper to head into the locker room with a 30-26 lead.

Second Half:

The lead would shrink for the Hawks in the early going despite Michael Kelly connecting from deep.  JCSU would regain the lead, 37-36, but Gus Rowland handed the lead back to the Hawks with the old-fashioned three-point play.

Xavier Young knocked down another trey to give the Hawks some breathing room.  JCSU countered to cut the deficit to two, 42-40.  Gus Rowland would answer once again with a jumper.  Timothy Bing added a jumper and Young dialed one up from deep again to push the advantage to 49-41.

Xavier Young continued the hot hand with a three-pointer and Gus Rowland's free throw gave the Hawks a 10 point lead, 55-45, with 7:58 remaining.

Chowan would keep the double-digit lead after Michael Kelly connected at the stripe for a pair.  JCSU continued to attack the lead.  Gus Rowland hit a three-pointer and Kelly hit a layup to give the Hawks an eight point lead with 1:56 to play.

The Golden Bulls went on a 9-1 run to end the half to even the score at 67-all.

Overtime:

After a JCSU bucket, Xavier Young evened the score with a pair from the stripe.  JCSU pushed their lead to 74-69 before Gus Rowland added a pair from the stripe and a three-pointer with 22 seconds left.

With time winding down, JCSU was able to find the go-ahead bucket from the wing with 2.6 seconds left.