Final Stats

SALISBURY, NC – Nasir Austin recorded his first double-double of the season Thursday as the Livingstone men's basketball team defeated the Chowan Hawks 65-60, snapping an eight-game losing skid.

The first 16 minutes of the first half were a back-and-forth battle.  Livingstone took the first point of the game but a 5-0 run by Chowan gave them a 5-1 lead less than three minutes into the game.  The Blue Bears responded and were able to open a five-point edge at 17-12 with 11:53 left in the first half.

Chowan didn't stay down long as the Hawks were able to regain a lead with just over eight minutes on the clock and extended it to three points 4:55 remaining.  The Blue Bears fought back and finished the first half on a 13-1 run and took a 33-24 lead into the break.

To start the second half the Blue Bears quickly built their lead to double digits.  Livingstone led 40-30 with 16:52 left in the contest but a 12-2 run by the Hawks tied the game at 42-42 with 13:57 remaining.

After the tie the Blue Bears responded with an 8-0 run and regained a 50-42 edge with 11 minutes on the clock.  The lead was one that Livingstone didn't relinquish.  In the final three minutes of the game, the Blue Bears exorcised the demons at the charity stripe as Livingstone hit 9-of-10 attempts to seal the victory.

Nasir Austin scored a game-high 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Blue Bears.  Tyler Johnson grabbed 12 boards and scored seven points while Drew Thomas added 10 points.

The Blue Bears shot 41.2 percent from the field, but hit only 3-of-15 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.  Livingstone showed marked improvement at the charity stripe, converting 74.1 percent of its free throw attempts.

The Blue Bears will next host the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday inside New Trent Gymnasium.