BELMONT, N.C. – A career scoring night from Jonathan McFall and Jaedon Willis was not enough as the Chowan Men's Basketball team fell on the road to Belmont Abbey 85-79 on Tuesday evening in Conference Carolinas action.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 79, Belmont Abbey 85
RECORDS | Chowan 3-6 (3-6), Belmont Abbey 12-4 (10-3)
LOCATION | Belmont, N.C. (Wheeler Center)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Jonathan McFall scored a career-high 32 points to move into a tie for fifth most in DII program history. McFall posted 13 made field goals for the second most in DII program history to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
Jaedon Willis posted a career-high 23 points hitting five triples. Jaylen Dilliard chipped in with 12 points.
Belmont Abbey shot 62.5% from the floor in the second half along with 17-22 from the charity stripe to separate the two teams.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
Jonathan McFall posted the first four points for the Hawks after an offensive rebound and putback and a basket in transition.
Jaylen Dilliard and Elijah Hill would even the score at 8-all after the media timeout with a tough bucket in the paint. Jonathan McFall would trade three-pointers with the Crusaders before a quick 7-0 run by Belmont Abbey pushed the Crusaders ahead 18-11.
Jonathan McFall ended the run with a jumper and another putback. Jamal Thomas posted a layup before a three-pointer by the Crusaders pushed the lead back up to 21-17. McFall added another bucket to keep the pace with the Crusaders.
Jaedon Willis would score the next nine points for the Hawks with three straight triples to force a Belmont Abbey timeout and give the Hawks a 28-25 lead. Elijah Hill and Jonathan McFall connected from behind the arc to offset the jumper by the Crusaders, 34-29.
Belmont Abbey went on a small 6-1 run to even the score at 35-all at the intermission.
Second Half:
After a 6-0 run by the Crusaders to open the half, Jonathan McFall ended the run with an alley-oop from Tahkey Williams. McFall tacked on another basket before Jaedon Willis knocked down a trey to give the Hawks back the lead 42-41.
Belmont Abbey went on a quick spurt before Jonathan McFall knocked down a triple and Jaedon Willis hit a jumper. McFall added a jumper to even the score at 49-all. The Crusaders would counter with five quick points to shift the lead to 54-49.
Calvin Ahoume finished off an offensive board for the score and free throw. Belmont Abbey countered with a 10-2 run to push their lead to double-digits, 64-54. Jonathan McFall posted the lone bucket for the Hawks during the stall.
Jaylen Dilliard ended the run with the front-end of a three-point play. Dilliard completed the three-point play on the next possession along with a pair of freebies to cut the deficit to 67-61 with 5:25 remaining.
After the under-four media timeout, Jaylen Dilliard posted a pair of free throws. Jonathan McFall tacked on a pair as Belmont Abbey answered at the other end. Jaedon Willis connected from deep to cut the deficit to 73-68 with 2:19 remaining.
Jaedon Willis posted a jumper and a pair from the stripe as the Hawks couldn't chip away at the deficit. The Crusaders would keep the distance at five, despite a three-pointer by Jonathan McFall and a jumper by Jaedon Willis. Tahkey Williams tallied a pair from the stripe for the final points for the Hawks.
UP NEXT
Chowan will hit the road to take on Southern Wesleyan on Friday, February 19 followed by Erskine on Saturday.
