MURFREESBORO, N.C. – After a blistering first half of shooting the Chowan Men's Basketball team cooled off in the second half as King roared back to take the 82-79 victory in Conference Carolinas action on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 79, King 82

RECORDS | Chowan 3-5 (3-5), King 4-10 (3-9)

LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Hawks Athletic Center)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Jaedon Willis poured in 21 points to lead the Hawks.  Elijah Hill scored 18 points, while Jaylen Dilliard tallied 14 points.  Jonathan McFall posted 11 points.

Calvin Ahoume posted seven points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Chowan shot 59.4% in the first half compared to 37.0% (10-27) in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Elijah Hill scored the first four points for the Hawks before Jaedon Willis scored the next nine to lead 13-12.

King would go on a 6-0 run before a dunk by Jonathan McFall, a triple by Jaedon Willis and another jumper by McFall evened the score at 20-all.

Elijah Hill and Jaylen Dilliard swapped baskets with the Tornado.  Chowan would go on a 13-4 run sparked by a Calvin Ahoume layup.  Dilliard added a bucket before Ahoume posted back-to-back buckets.  Dilliard knocked down a triple to give the Hawks a 35-28 lead.

After a three-pointer by Elijah Hill, a pair of free throws by Xavier Young and a layup by Jaylen Dilliard saw the Hawk lead move to double-digits, 42-32.

Tahkey Williams knocked down a triple and Jonathan McFall added a dunk to end the half to give the Hawks a 47-38 lead into the intermission.

Second Half:

Jonathan McFall and Elijah Hill posted jumpers to thwart the early attack by King.  The Tornado closed the gap to 51-49 with 15:47 remaining to force a Chowan timeout.

Out of the break, Jaylen Dilliard knocked down a trey and Xavier Young hit a layup to push the lead back up, 56-51.  Elijah Hill knocked down a three-pointer before King cut the deficit to one, 59-58.  Hill added a jumper to slow the Tornado run.

King continued to keep the contest close despite a three-pointer by Jaedon Willis.  The Tornado would take the lead with 7:29 remaining with a quick 8-0 run, 72-65.  Willis hit a three-pointer to end the run along with three free throws to cut the deficit to one, 72-71.

Jaylen Dilliard connected on a pair from the stripe to hand the lead back to the Hawks, 73-72.  Elijah Hill added a layup before a 6-0 run by the Tornado switched the lead to King, 78-75.  Jonathan McFall posted a jumper and a Calvin Ahoume free throw evened the score with 2:11 remaining.

King tallied a pair from the stripe and Jonathan McFall picked up one at the line.  King would have a three point lead with 3.3 seconds left on the clock.  The Hawks were unable to get inside the half court line as a last second heave came up short.

UP NEXT

Chowan will head to Belmont Abbey on Tuesday, February 16 in Belmont, N.C.  Tip-off is slated for 7pm.