BANNER ELK, N.C. – Both teams were unable to hold their double-digit leads as the Chowan Men's Basketball team was unable to fend off the late run by Lees-McRae in the Conference Carolinas opener on Tuesday evening on the road.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 82, Lees-McRae 88

RECORDS | Chowan 0-2 (0-1), Lees-McRae 3-1 (1-0)

LOCATION | Banner Elk, N.C. (Williams Gymnasium)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Jay Estime led the Hawks with 16 points and six rebounds.  RJ Wilson added 14 points, while Christian Koonce tallied 13 points.  Calvin Ahoume led the team with eight rebounds.

Chowan outrebounded the Bobcats 44-31, but LMC had a +11 advantage in points off turnovers.  The Bobcats picked up 19 points at the free throw line in the second half.

The Hawks came back from a 17 point deficit, while Lees-McRae rallied from a 15 point deficit.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Lees-McRae knocked down a pair of three-pointers to start the contest before RJ Wilson connected from the floor with a layup.  The Bobcats would score in transition before Jaylen Dilliard notched a jumper, 8-4.  The Bobcats went on a run to push their advantage to 27-10 as RJ Wilson, Royce Jarett and Donavon Martin connected from the floor for the Hawks.

Chowan would be held scoreless for over five minutes before Aaron James hit a jumper with 9:07 remaining.  Following a bucket by the Bobcats, Christian Koonce knocked down a triple before Chase Barnett converted the old-fashioned three-point play in transition to cut the deficit to 29-18.

Christian Koonce hit a pull-up jumper and the ensuing free throw.  RJ Wilson picked up a pair from the stripe before Jay Estime knocked down a jumper to cut the deficit to 31-25 with 6:43 remaining.  Cheick Traore knocked down a pair from the stripe.

Jay Estime connected from deep to continue the comeback for the Hawks, 34-30.  Jaylen Dilliard knocked down a jumper before Donavon Martin posted a putback bucket to trim the deficit to 36-34 with 2:40 remaining.

After a bucket by the Bobcats, Jaylen Dilliard answered at the other end.  Calvin Ahoume picked up a point at the stripe before Chase Barnett answered with a layup after a LMC basket, 42-39.

Donavon Martin connected from the floor to finish off the scoring in the half as the Hawks trimmed the deficit down to 44-41 at the half.

Second Half:

Jay Estime sparked a 22-5 run to even the score and take the lead with a jumper.  RJ Wilson knocked down back-to-back triples along with a layup by Jaylen Dilliard posted a layup in transition.  Estime knocked down a pair of three-pointers to push the lead to 57-48.  Calvin Ahoume pushed the run forward with a layup followed by Christian Koonce added a layup.  Koonce added another layup before LMC ended the run with a jumper, 63-51.

Aaron James knocked down a left handed layup before LMC picked up a pair from the stripe.  Donavon Martin countered with a pair from the line.  RJ Wilson added a putback basket to push the advantage to 69-54.

LMC went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to single-digits, 69-60, with 10:14 remaining to force a Chowan timeout.  Chase Barnett would slow the run with a pair of freebies as the Bobcats answered with three from the stripe.

Calvin Ahoume ended the run with a layup after the offensive rebound to put the Hawks back up by double-digits, 73-63.  LMC picked up another pair at the stripe.  Christian Koonce knocked down a triple before LMC answered with a dunk at the other end.  Ahoume goes 1-2 from the line to put the Hawks up 77-67.

After a pair from the line by the Bobcats, Chase Barnett collects a pair from the stripe.  LMC quickly closed the gap to 79-74 with a 5-0 run with 4:30 remaining.  The Bobcats continued to chip away at the deficit out of the media timeout with a three-point play to cut the deficit to 79-77.

LMC evened the score with 2:24 remaining with a bucket in transition, 79-all.  The Bobcats would score out of the timeout to regain the lead, 81-79.  LMC finished off the contest at the stripe.

Jay Estime knocked down a triple to close the score to 88-82.

UP NEXT

Chowan will continue their road trip as the Hawks travel to High Point, N.C. to take on High Point in an exhibition on Saturday, November 27 before coming home to take on Elizabeth City State on Sunday.