MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The King University men's basketball team was locked in a battle with Chowan Saturday afternoon, but the Hawks were able to slip away in the closing seconds to pick up the win. Four players scored in double digits for King, led by a 14-point performance from
MJ Foust and 13 from
Isaiah Curry.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Chowan 79, King 76
LOCATION: Hawks Athletic Center; Murfreesboro, N.C.
RECORDS: Chowan 1-8, 1-6 Conference Carolinas; King 5-5, 3-5 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The tone for the game was set early, as neither team was able to open up a very large lead. After the Hawks took an early lead, the Tornado took their first lead of the game off back-to-back jumpers from Connor Jordan and Michael Mays that put King up 8-6.
- King eventually took a four-point lead when Darron Howard drilled a three, which was followed a short time later by Brandon Lamberth grabbing an offensive rebound and putting it back, giving the Tornado a 20-16 lead.
- The Hawks would start to pull away, taking a 29-24 lead with under five minutes remaining. King would then score eight unanswered points to take a 35-31 lead.
- The teams continued to battle over the final 90 seconds, with Mays hit a jumper with 28 seconds left to hand King the narrow 39-37 lead heading into the halftime intermission.
Second Half
- The Tornado opened the second half on an 8-5 run, with Foust scoring twice during the stretch.
- King took what was their largest lead of the game five minutes into the half, when Foust hit a layup to open up the lead to 51-44.
- After the Hawks rallied to retake the lead, the Tornado started to make their move, scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 74-66 lead with four minutes to play.
- Once again, Chowan would rally and take the lead with just over a minute to play.
- After Curry hit a pair of free throws to tie the game, the Hawks hit a jumper with 30 seconds remaining, then got a free throw in the closing seconds to steal the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Foust finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
- Curry finished with 13 points, while Howard had 11 and Lamberth contributed 10 points.
- As a team, the Tornado grabbed a season-high 46 rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
- Marcus Elliott had 22 points for Chowan while Donavon Martin and Daylen Askew both scored in double figures as well.
- RJ Wilson finished with nine points and 10 rebounds, seven of which were on the defensive end. He also led the Hawks in assists, dishing out four.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Curry's 13 points ties his season-high, while also playing a season-high 30 minutes.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will open up the new year on Jan. 4 when they face Mount Olive in a road matchup.
- Chowan is also off until Jan. 4, when they face UNC Pembroke.
