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BRISTOL, TN – Christian Koonce poured in a career-high 32 points to lift the Chowan men’s basketball team to a 100-89 Conference Carolinas victory over King in league action here Sunday afternoon.

Koonce’s effort was the sixth most points scored in a single game in Chowan’s DII history. His 14-of-21 shooting tied for most in Chowan’s DII history.

Jay Estime chipped in with 14 points. Daylan Askew, RJ Wilson, Isaac Hippolyte, and Skyler Davies tallied nine points each. Chowan went 26-of-35 from the free throw line.

The win secured a postseason berth for the men in the Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championships, only the second time since joining in 2019-20.

The win also marked the first non-losing season for the Hawks since 2016-17.

Chowan eclipsed the century mark for the third time this season.

The Hawks wasted little time establishing a working lead as Chowan built an early 19-4 advantage en route to a 53-35 lead at intermission.

Koonce tallied six points along with a three-pointer by Davies at the outset of the second half where Chowan built a 62-46 lead.

King closed the deficit to 10 (66-56) before Donavon Martin posted a dunk and Davies added a three-pointer to push the lead back out.

Hippolyte added a basket before Koonce secured a pair from the line on technical free throws and a jumper.

King rallied with an 18-4 run to even the score at 81-all.

Jay Estime and Wilson picked up free throws to give the Hawks the lead. Koonce added a pair of jumpers and Askew swished two free throws to lead 94-85. Wilson and Koonce picked up a point at the stripe before Koonce finished off his scoring output with a fastbreak dunk.

Chowan (13-11 overall and 11-8 in league play) heads into the regular season finale with a rivalry contest against Barton on Wednesday, February 22. Senior Day and Play4Kay will be the theme for the contest. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm.