Box Score
MURFREESBORO, NC – The Livingstone men's basketball team dropped it's first division game of the season Monday as they fell 64-58 to the Chowan University Hawks.
Senior forward Megail Cannon led the Blue Bears with 19 points while junior guard Ronney Freeman scored 14 and senior center Keith Darden added 10 points.
Livingstone encountered a tough Hawks ballclub to start the contest as the two teams battled back and forth over the first 20 minutes. Chowan grabbed the early lead, but Livingstone fought back. Ronney Freeman gave the Blue Bears a six-point lead after a three-point play with 11:09 to play in the first half.
Chowan got back within two points with just under 10 minutes left, but the Blue Bears held strong, going on a 5-0 run to regain a seven-point advantage with 6:42 showing on the clock. Despite the lead, Livingstone managed only four points over the final six minutes, but still managed to hold a slim one-point edge at the half, 26-25.
Senior forward Megail Cannon led the Blue Bears with 10 points at the break while junior guard Ronney Freeman and senior center Keith Darden each added six points. Sophomore forward Greg Henry led the Blue Bears with four rebounds.
Chowan got out quickly against the Blue Bears to start the second half, scoring the first 12 points of the second stanza to grab a 37-26 lead. Livingstone first got on the board in the second half at the 16:38 mark behind a Rodney Freeman jumper.
The Hawks held a double-digit lead with 13:45 left, but the Blue Bears battled back. With Chowan leading 46-38, Livingstone rattled off an 11-3 run to tie the game at 49-49 with 3:34 to play in the contest. Despite Livingstone's best attempts the Blue Bears could not overtake the Hawks as Chowan continually converted their free-throw attempts down the stretch to secure the victory.
With the loss, the Blue Bears fell to 8-9 overall, 6-6 in the CIAA and 1-1 in the Western Division. Chowan improved to 13-5 overall, 9-3 in the conference and 2-0 in the division.
The Livingstone men will head to Fayetteville on Thursday to face the Broncos in their next contest. Tip-off for Thursday's contest is slated for 7:30 p.m.
