WILSON, N.C. – The Chowan Men's Basketball team fought back from a halftime deficit to see their run take a five minute hiatus in the middle of the second half to fall to Lees-McRae in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship on Sunday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 73, Lees-McRae 80
RECORDS | Chowan 8-18, Lees-McRae 15-13
LOCATION | Wilson, N.C. (Wilson Gymnasium)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Chowan posted five players in double-figures led by Christian Koonce with 19 points. Daylan Askew added 15 points, while Marcus Elliott tallied 13 points. Jay Estime and Chase Barnett chipped in with 11 points each.
Lees-McRae shot 57.1% (16-28) in the first half, the Hawks shot 55.2% (16-29) in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
Chowan started off the contest slow missing their first six shots as the Hawks trailed 9-0 before Christian Koonce posted a driving layup. Cheick Traore recorded a layup to cut the deficit to 9-4. Lees-McRae pushed their lead to double-digits, 16-4, before Daylan Askew posted a driving layup.
The Bobcats continued their hot shooting to stretch their lead to 23-6 before Marcus Elliott connected from the floor. Christian Koonce knocked down a triple and a floater from the baseline to trim the deficit to 27-13.
The Hawks would find some success from behind the arc as Jay Estime knocked down a pair from deep along with one by Marcus Elliott to trail 34-22. Daylan Askew notched a dunk in transition after an Estime steal. Estime added a layup to trim the deficit to 36-26.
Chase Barnett connected from the charity stripe as the Hawks trailed 41-28 at the half.
Second Half:
Chowan opened the half with the hot hand connecting on 8-9 from the floor in the opening minutes of the frame. Daylan Askew posted three baskets and a pair from the stripe along with two baskets by Chase Barnett and a triple by Jay Estime to cut the deficit to 52-47 with 13:13 remaining.
Christian Koonce and Marcus Elliott offset the run by the Bobcats to keep the score close, 57-51. Marcus Elliott knocked down a triple before Koonce connected from deep to trail 61-57 with 8:27 remaining. Daylan Askew dialed up a triple to cut the deficit to one before the Bobcats answered on their next possession. Elliott hit a triple to once again cut the deficit to one, 64-63.
The Hawks would go scoreless over the next five minutes as LMC pushed their lead to 72-63. Christian Koonce hit a layup to end the run with 2:26 remaining. Chase Barnett tallied a free throw before Cheick Traore posted a layup, 74-68.
Chowan missed two three-pointers before Chase Barnett picked up a pair at the stripe with 22 seconds remaining, 76-70. Christian Koonce hit a pair from the stripe to offset the LMC freebies. Koonce posted a free throw to end the scoring in the contest.
