MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Men's Basketball team picked up a strong regional victory in the home opener against Catawba on Saturday afternoon earning the 73-65 victory.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 73, Catawba 65

RECORDS | Chowan 1-3, Catawba 4-2

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

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Christian Koonce recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Preston Le Gassick notched a career-high 12 points, while Daylan Askew collected 11 points and a team-high four steals.

Cheick Traore cleaned up the glass with a team-high 14 rebounds.  Chowan outrebounded Catawba 55-38.

The Chowan defense forced Catawba to shoot 1-11 in the second half from deep and 5-26 in the contest.

The Hawks went 19-22 from the charity stripe, all in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Catawba went on an 8-0 run to start the contest before Chase Barnett collected a layup in transition.  Cheick Traore added a putback basket before Veigar Alexandersson connected from deep to cut the deficit to 8-7.

The Indians pushed their lead to 16-11 despite shots from Christian Koonce and Jay Estime.  Daylan Askew added a layup before hitting a triple as Catawba extended their lead to 21-16.

Skyler Davies sparked an 8-0 run for the Hawks to take a 24-21 lead with a three-pointer.  Christian Koonce hit a jumper and Davies connected from deep again as the Hawks would never relinquish the lead again.

Catawba would cut the deficit to one on several occasions as Christian Koonce posted a layup prior to a quick 5-0 run by Preston Le Gassick.  Koonce hit a layup to stretch the lead to 33-27 as Catawba hit a three-pointer to close out the half, 33-30.

Second Half:

Skyler Davies put the Hawks on the board in the half with a pair from the charity stripe.  Jay Estime knocked down a triple along with baskets by Daylan Askew and Chase Barnett pushed the lead to 42-36.

Catawba would close the gap on two occasions to a one possession contest as RJ Wilson connected from the floor.  With 13:00 on the clock, the Indians closed the gap to just one, 44-43.  Jay Estime gave the Hawks a cushion with a three-pointer.

Chowan would pick up their next seven points at the stripe before Preston Le Gassick dialed up a trey to push the lead to 57-49.  Christian Koonce gave the Hawks a double-digit lead with 5:25 to play, 64-54, with a jumper out of a timeout.

The Hawks would maintain their advantage at the stripe as Catawba was unable to find baskets from deep.

UP NEXT

Chowan continues its home stand as the Hawks host St. Augustine's on Monday, November 28.  Tip-off is slated for 6pm.