CENTRAL, S.C. – A second half surge to the lead was stolen with 6.3 seconds remaining as the Chowan Men's Basketball team suffered a 66-64 loss to Southern Wesleyan in league action on Friday afternoon.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 64, Southern Wesleyan 66

RECORDS | Chowan 3-7 (3-7), Southern Wesleyan 5-4 (5-4)

LOCATION | Central, S.C. (Tysinger Gym)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Jaylen Dilliard and Jaedon Willis posted 15 points each.  Elijah Hill, Tahkey Williams, and Jonathan McFall chipped in with eight points each.  Hill grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Jamal Thomas tallied six points, seven rebounds, and eight assists on the afternoon.

Chowan shot 22.6% (7-31) in the first half.  The Hawks left points at the line going 13-18 (72.2%).

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

After a slow start by both teams, Southern Wesleyan would go up by double-figures as Jonathan McFall and Jaedon Willis tallied two points each as the Warriors led 14-4.

Chowan struggled from the floor connecting once on their first 16 attempts before Jamal Thomas snapped the skid with a jumper.  Jaylen Dilliard picked up a pair from the stripe before SWU connected from the stripe, 16-8.

Tahkey Williams knocked down a three-pointer and Jaylen Dilliard hit a layup to cut the deficit to 18-13 but the Warriors answered to push their advantage back to double-figures 24-13 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

Jaedon Willis cashed in from the line for a pair to spark a 9-2 run. After a SWU trip to the line, Jamal Thomas connected on the front-end of the three-point play.  Calvin Ahoume tallied a pair from the stripe to cut the deficit to 28-19.

Elijah Hill connected from deep before Calvin Ahoume scored a layup to end the first half and cut the deficit to 28-24.

Second Half:

Jaedon Willis would open the scoring for the Hawks in the second half with back-to-back buckets to even the score at 28-all.  SWU earned a point at the line before Tahkey Williams knocked down a triple. 

The lead would swap hands in the early portion as Jonathan McFall hit a layup and Jaylen Dilliard added a three-pointer.  Jaedon Willis posted a layup before Dilliard knocked down another trey to give the Hawks a 41-38 advantage.

Following the media timeout, SWU answered with a three-pointer before Jonathan McFall was on the receiving end of the alley-oop from Jamal Thomas.  Jaedon Willis connected from deep and McFall tallied another dunk in transition to put the Hawks up 48-43.

SWU went on a small 4-0 run before the Hawks countered with an 11-2 run.  Elijah Hill started the run with a layup along with a bucket by Jaylen Dilliard.  Hill and Jamal Thomas picked up three points from the line before a bucket by Hill and Tahkey Williams pushed the lead to 59-49 with 7:48 remaining.

The Warriors would end the run and counter with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 59-55 with 4:45 remaining.  SWU continued their run with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one after a pair of missed freebies by the Hawks.

Jaylen Dilliard answered on the next possession with a three-pointer to end the five minute offensive stall.  SWU continued to claw back with a bucket with 90 seconds remaining.  Jaedon Willis picked up a pair at the stripe, but the Warriors closed the gap with the three-point play, 64-63.  SWU took a 65-64 lead with 15 seconds remaining.

SWU would grab a steal with 6.3 seconds remaining.  The Warriors would tack on another point at the line to steal away the 66-64 victory.

UP NEXT

Chowan will travel to face Erskine on Saturday, February 20.  Tip-off is slated for 4pm against the Fleet in Due West, S.C.