MURFREESBORO, N.C. – Despite a late attempt, the Chowan Men's Basketball team came up short against Barton in Conference Carolinas action on Tuesday evening at home.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 68, Barton 72

RECORDS | Chowan 8-14 (5-11), Barton 11-13 (9-8)

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

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Khalil Ridges led the Hawks with 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals.  Michael Kelly notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

BJ McLaurin posted 15 rebounds and nine points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Barton raced out to an early 6-0 lead forcing a line change and a Chowan timeout.  Brandon Mayhan cracked the scoreboard with a jumper.  Michael Kelly picked up two points from the stripe before the Bulldog lead moved to 15-4.

Michael Kelly and Isaiah Lewis scored in the paint but the Bulldogs pushed their lead to double-figures once again.  Tahkey Williams added a layup and Jaylen Dilliard picked up a transition basket to close the gap to 19-12.

Chowan continued to chip away with baskets by Jamal Thomas, Michael Kelly and Khalil Ridges to cut the deficit to five, 23-18.  Isaiah Lewis and Kelly added a bucket before the lead moved back to double-digits, 33-22.

The Hawks went on a 7-2 run to end the half to trail 35-29.  Michael Kelly started the run with a bucket followed by a layup by BJ McLaurin.  Khalil Ridges knocked down the first triple of the contest for the Hawks before the end of the half.

Second Half:

Tahkey Williams knocked down a triple to put the Hawks on the board in the half.  BJ McLaurin added a jumper and Khalil Ridges added a corner trey to keep pace with the Bulldogs, 43-37.

The Hawks cut the deficit to one, 43-42, as BJ McLaurin converted the three-point play and Khalil Ridges went coast-to-cost for a layup following the steal.  Chowan cut the lead down to one once again, 47-46, with baskets by Ridges and Brandon Mayhan.

Barton maintained their advantage throughout the midway point of the half despite baskets by Michael Kelly and Jamal Thomas.  BJ McLaurin and Khalil Ridges picked up points at the stripe but were offset by free throws by the Bulldogs.

A quick 7-2 swing for the Hawks closed the gap to 64-61 with 1:32 remaining.  Jamal Thomas started the run with a layup and a bucket by Michael Kelly helped before a Jaylen Dilliard triple cut into the lead.

Isaiah Lewis picked up the three-point play to trim to two, 66-64.  A pair of free throws by the Bulldogs gave them space, but Khalil Ridges quickly took it away with a three pointer with 11 ticks left, 68-67.

Chowan was able to pick up one point from the line down the stretch as free throws by the Bulldogs iced the contest.

UP NEXT

Chowan travels to Tennessee to take on King in a Conference Carolinas contest on Saturday, February 15.  Tip-off is slated for 4pm.