MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Men's Basketball team gave everything they had against #13 UNC Pembroke in a Conference Carolinas contest on Wednesday night before succumbing to a 90-79 defeat.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 79, #13 UNC Pembroke 90

RECORDS | Chowan 7-6 (5-3), UNC Pembroke 15-1 (7-1)

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

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Jay Estime led the charge with 22 points and seven rebounds.  Christian Koonce added 16 points.  Daylan Askew and Donavon Martin chipped in with nine points each.

Chowan struggled from the floor in the first half shooting 34.4% (11-32) while UNC Pembroke shot 66.7% (18-27).

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Chowan would race out to an early 5-1 lead as Isaac Hippolyte posted a pair of free throws and Christian Koonce scored a layup and a free throw.  RJ Wilson posted a putback layup and Koonce added a layup in transition to even the score at 9-all.

Jay Estime and Preston Le Gassick connected from deep to hold an 18-14 lead.  UNC Pembroke countered with a 15-2 run to lead 29-20.  Donavon Martin ended the run with a pair from the stripe and Cheick Traore added a layup, 32-24.

UNCP quickly collected seven straight points before Jay Estime and Daylan Askew countered with seven straight points.  Donavon Martin posted a jumper while Cheick Traore added a free throw to trail 46-34 at the intermission.

Second Half:

Jay Estime and Christian Koonce put the Hawks on the board in the half with a pair of buckets.  Estime knocked down a triple and Koonce hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 10, 53-43.  A technical foul allowed Preston Le Gassick to score five straight points before Veigar Alexandersson hit a corner trey to cut the deficit to four, 55-51, with 13:14 remaining.

Skyler Davies and Jay Estime collected a basket each as UNCP pushed their lead back to double-figures, 65-55.  Daylan Askew and Estime continued to push the score ahead before Donavon Martin swiped a pass and registered a dunk to get the crowd into the contest.

Trailing 75-66 with 6:26 remaining, Chowan went on a quick 6-0 run to cut the deficit to three, 75-72, with 5:18 remaining as Jay Estime knocked down a triple and Daylan Askew used a fastbreak layup.  The Braves would maintain their advantage and connect from the floor down the stretch to hold off the Hawks.

UP NEXT

Chowan hosts Southern Wesleyan in Conference Carolinas action at home on Saturday, January 14.  Tip-off is slated for 4pm.