MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Men's Basketball team defended their home court with an 83-74 victory to hand Converse their fifth straight loss in Conference Carolinas action on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 83, Converse 74

RECORDS | Chowan 7-5 (5-2), Converse 6-10 (4-4)

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

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Chowan shot 29.8% from the floor in the opening half after not playing since December 19.

Jay Estime collected 21 points and eight rebounds, scoring all but three of his points from deep.  Daylan Askew added 15 points, while Isaac Hippolyte scored 14 points.  Hippolyte also hauled in eight rebounds along with eight from RJ Wilson to go with nine points.

The Hawks swatted 11 shots led by Skyler Davies and RJ Wilson with three blocks each.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

Jay Estime started the scoring with a wing triple before Christian Koonce added a putback basket.  Neither side could find the bottom of the net until Converse took a 7-5 lead with a quick 5-0 spurt.  Chowan countered with a run as Paul Whitby connected from deep and Isaac Hippolyte scoring in transition.

Following a basket by Converse to cut the deficit to 10-9, Chowan went on an 8-0 run.  Veigar Alexandersson posted a layup followed by a transition trey by Daylan Askew.  RJ Wilson finished up the run with a three-point play to lead 18-9.

Daylan Askew scored the next four points for the Hawks along with a layup by Isaac Hippolyte to lead by double-figures, 24-13.  Over the next 4:23, Converse regained the lead with a 12-0 run, 25-24.  Hippolyte ended the run with a pair from the stripe.  RJ Wilson added a point before Donavon Martin hammered home a dunk to lead 29-27.  Askew scored in transition and Wilson tallied another from the stripe to lead 32-31 at the intermission.

Second Half:

Converse opened the half with four quick points before Christian Koonce scored in the paint.  Jay Estime connected from the stripe as Skyler Davies finished off the alley-oop from Estime and added the free throw to lead 38-35.

Isaac Hippolyte added the next four points for the Hawks to maintain the advantage before Daylan Askew went coast-to-coast for the score.  Jay Estime would start to heat up from deep connecting on back-to-back possessions.  A layup in transition by Christian Koonce pushed the lead to 52-43.

Converse cut the deficit to three, 57-54, with 6:55 remaining as Jay Estime connected again from deep.  Just over a minute later, the Valkyries cut it to two, 60-58, the closest Converse got the rest of the way.  Preston Le Gassick and Estime knocked down triples to give the Hawks a cushion.  RJ Wilson and Le Gassick added a basket each to offset the attack by Converse, 70-64.

A quick 6-0 run by the Hawks pushed the lead back to double-figures, 78-68, as Jay Estime started the run with a triple.  Daylan Askew finished off the three-point play with just over a minute remaining.

Chowan finished off the scoring at the stripe as Converse was unable to make shots down the stretch.

UP NEXT

Chowan welcomes nationally-ranked UNC Pembroke to town on Wednesday, January 11.  Tip-off is slated for 7pm.