MURFREESBORO, N.C. – Chase Barnett knocked down a pull-up jumper as the time expired to send the fans into a frenzy as the Chowan Men's Basketball team upset their rival, Mount Olive, 74-73 in Conference Carolinas action on Thursday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 74, Mount Olive 73
RECORDS | 3-10 (3-8), Mount Olive 9-6 (8-2)
LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Hawks Athletic Center)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Chase Barnett scored a career-high 17 points including the game-winner. Barnett added six assists and five rebounds. Jay Estime tallied a game-high 22 points with six rebounds.
RJ Wilson posted a double-double with a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Donavon Martin added eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.
The Hawks held a +12 margin on the glass with a season-high 53 rebounds, most rebounds in a single-game since Dec. 15, 2016 against Shaw (53), missing the all-time mark of 55.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
Jay Estime started off the scoring with a jumper in the paint in transition. Chase Barnett connected from deep before Cheick Traore added a layup to even the score at 7-all. Both teams traded baskets as RJ Wilson notched a putback layup to spark a quick 6-0 run. Estime and Barnett connected from the floor to lead 13-9.
Mount Olive knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to one, before the Hawks went on an 18-2 run to lead 31-14. Jay Estime sparked the run with a jumper followed by a three-pointer. Christian Koonce knocked down a jumper following the media timeout. Donavon Martin scored in the paint prior to back-to-back triples by Estime. The Trojans tallied a layup before Estime dialed up another three.
Christian Koonce and Donavon Martin added a bucket in the later stages of the period. RJ Wilson recorded a putback bucket to send the Hawks into the locker room with a 37-27 advantage.
Second Half:
Chase Barnett opened the scoring in the half with a basket before Christian Koonce added a pair at the stripe. UMO closed the gap to single-digits before RJ Wilson added back-to-back buckets to lead 45-32. After four points from Barnett, UMO rallied with a 10-2 run to trim the deficit to six, 51-45, with 13:15 to play. Donavon Martin posted the lone bucket for the Hawks during the drought.
Christian Koonce and Chase Barnett connected from the floor before Mount Olive went on a 14-2 run to take the lead, 61-57. Jay Estime added a pair from the line to end the run as UMO pushed the lead back out to four.
Donavon Martin evened the score at 64-all with a jumper in the paint at the 4:55 mark. UMO answered with a three-pointer on their next possession. Back-to-back buckets by RJ Wilson drew the score even at 68-all. Chase Barnett and Wilson traded baskets with the Trojans in the final two minutes of the contest as UMO held a one point lead.
Mount Olive had a chance to go up by three with 17 seconds left as RJ Wilson registered a block and fell into the waiting arms of Jay Estime. Estime threw the ball up the court before it was knocked out of bounds by the Trojans.
The final in-bounds play with 6.6 seconds remaining found RJ Wilson as the trigger man. Wilson found Donavon Martin in the near corner before finding Chase Barnett at the left wing. Barnett dribbled to the middle of the charity stripe and knocked down the jumper as the buzzer sounded for the 74-73 victory.
UP NEXT
Chowan is scheduled to take their modest two game winning streak on the road to take on Emmanuel on Saturday, January 15. Tip-off is slated for 4pm. The Hawks dropped a close 81-76 contest in the first meeting of the series on December 4.
