MURFREESBORO, N.C. – Khalil Ridges' game-winning attempt at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim in an 85-83 defeat to Belmont Abbey in Conference Carolinas action on Tuesday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 83, Belmont Abbey 85
RECORDS | Chowan 8-10 (5-8), Belmont Abbey 12-8 (8-5)
LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Helms Center)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Jamal Thomas produced his first double-double of the season tying a program single-game best with 14 assists and added 10 points. BJ McLaurin added another double-double to his total with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Khalil Ridges and Jaylen Dilliard tallied 15 points each. Ja'Darien Wade with 5-9 from the floor for 12 points.
Chowan struggled from the line going 11-18 (61.1%) in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
Neither team could find scoring in the opening two minutes of the contest until an 8-2 run by the Hawks sparked the scoring. Tahkey Williams started the scoring with a layup and Jamal Thomas converted the three-point play. BJ McLaurin added a layup from Thomas and Thomas added another point at the line.
Ja'Darien Wade knocked down a triple before BJ McLaurin registered a dunk to lead 13-6. Belmont Abbey went on a 10-0 run to take the lead 16-13 and force a Chowan timeout.
Tahkey Williams cleaned up the glass and finished the old-fashioned three-point play to even the score. Jaylen Dilliard added a layup prior to the Crusaders opening up the lead to 24-18. Jamal Thomas cut the lead in half with a triple before the Crusaders answered at the other end.
Both teams traded baskets with a three pointer by Ja'Darien Wade, back-to-back buckets by BJ McLaurin, and a triple by Jaylen Dilliard to even the score at 33 a side.
The Hawks matched the Crusaders down the stretch as Jaylen Dilliard added a bucket along with two baskets by Ja'Darien Wade and a jumper by BJ McLaurin to lead 41-39 at the intermission.
Second Half:
Jaylen Dilliard and Tahkey Williams kept the Hawks in front before a quick 7-0 run by Belmont Abbey gave the edge to the Crusaders. Dilliard connected from deep to even the contest, but another 11-3 run pushed the advantage to eight, 60-52 for BAC. Khalil Ridges dialed up a triple during the run.
Khalil Ridges connected once again from behind the arc as the deficit held. BJ McLaurin hit a three pointer but the Crusaders answered with another small run to lead 71-62 with 8:48 remaining.
Chowan closed the gap to three, 73-70, with an 8-2 run. Khalil Ridges added three points, BJ McLaurin picked up two from the stripe and hit a jumper, and Jamal Thomas went 1-2 from the line.
Jaylen Dilliard and Khalil Ridges knocked down triples to keep the Hawks with one possession. BJ McLaurin converted from the stripe and Ridges dialed up long distance to trim the deficit to one, 82-81, with 54 seconds left.
Jamal Thomas added a layup to offset the bucket by the Crusaders. BAC tacked on a freebie at the line to lead with eight ticks left. The Hawks' first attempt at tying the game would be blocked out of bounds with 1.7 seconds left. Off the in-bound, Ja'Darien Wade tapped out the attempt to Khalil Ridges, who attempt hit off the back iron and out at the buzzer.
UP NEXT
Chowan makes the trip to Due West, S.C. to take on Erskine in a Conference Carolinas contest on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off is slated for 4pm.
