Buzzer-beating upset

Published 11:33 am Friday, January 14, 2022

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MURFREESBORO – Chase Barnett knocked down a pull-up jumper as time expired to send the fans into a frenzy as the Chowan men’s basketball team upset their rival, Mount Olive, 74-73 in Conference Carolinas action here Thursday evening.

Barnett scored a career-high 17 points, including the game-winner. He added six assists and five rebounds.

Chowan’s Chase Barnett (#5) scored a career-high 17 points, including the game-winning shot as time expired, as the Hawks defeated rival Mount Olive, 74-73, on Thursday night in Murfreesboro. Photo courtesy of Chowan University

Jay Estime tallied a game-high 22 points with six rebounds. RJ Wilson posted a double-double with a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Donavon Martin added eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

The Hawks held a +12 margin on the glass with a season-high 53 rebounds, the most in a single-game since Dec. 15, 2016 against Shaw (53), missing the all-time mark of 55.

In a game that featured offensive spurts by both teams, Mount Olive, holding a 73-72 lead, had a chance to go up by three with 17 seconds left. But Wilson had other ideas as he registered a block shot and the ball fell into the waiting arms of Estime His ensuing pass upcourt was knocked out of bounds by the Trojans.

The final in-bounds play with 6.6 seconds remaining found Wilson as the trigger man. He found Donavon Martin in the near corner before a pass to Barnett on the left wing. Barnett dribbled to the middle of the charity stripe and knocked down the jumper as the buzzer sounded for the 74-73 victory.

The first half was highlighted by a huge offensive outburst by the Hawks as Estime heated up from behind the three-point line. He drained four shots from deep that lit the fuse on an 18-2 run and a 31-14 lead.

Christian Koonce and Martin added a bucket in the later stages of the period. Wilson recorded a putback bucket to send the Hawks into the locker room with a 37-27 halftime advantage.

Sparked by back-to-back baskets from Wilson plus a bucket by Barnett and a pair of free throws from Koonce, Chowan edged out to a 45-32 lead in the early stages of the second half.

The Trojans rallied to within 51-45 with 13:15 to play. Koonce and Barnett connected from the floor before Mount Olive went on a 14-2 run to take the lead, 61-57.

Martin evened the score at 64-all with a jumper in the paint at the 4:55 mark. UMO answered with a three-pointer on their next possession. Back-to-back buckets by Wilson drew the score even at 68-all. Barnett and Wilson traded baskets with the Trojans in the final two minutes of the contest as UMO held a one point lead.

The win was the second this week by the Hawks, who improved to 3-10 overall and 3-8 in league play.

On Tuesday night in Florence, SC, Estime and Cheick Traore combined to sink three-of-four free throws in the final four seconds

Koonce posted his third straight 20+ point game with a career-high 27 points. Estime added 24 points and six assists. Barnett chipped in with 11 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Wilson added eight points and seven rebounds.

Chowan hit a season-high 13 three-pointers while shooting 50.0% (13-26) from deep. The Hawks limited turnovers in the second half with three after posting nine in the first half. Francis Marion posted 13 turnovers, with the most crucial one coming with 0.7 seconds remaining.