MURFREESBORO, N.C. --- Damerius Summers contributed 18 points and eight rebounds to the host Chowan to a 75-68 come-from-behind win over Tusculum Saturday afternoon at the Hawks Athletic Center in the final game of the Conference Tip-Off Challenge.
The Hawks (1-1) overcame a 13-point deficit in the opening period and used an 18-1 spanning the two halves to secure its first win of the season.
Tusculum got an 18-point performance from Bryce Jackson, while junior forward TJ Printup added 17 points and five rebounds, while posting career-highs with five steals and three blocked shots. Sophomore J3 Swindell finished with a career-high dozen points.
For Chowan, Damien Robinson added 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting while posting seven boards as the Hawks outscored the Pioneers 54-34 over the final 24 minutes of the game.
Tusculum led through most of the first half and scored 14 straight points to take a 34-21 lead with 3:57 left in the first half. But Chowan closed out period with a 12-1 run to trailed 35-33 at the intermission.
The Hawks continued the run into the second half as Robinson, Summers and William Hynes made three straight buckets as Chowan led 39-35 with 17:46 remaining. TU trimmed the deficit to 39-38 as Swindell made one of two free throws following a Chowan technical foul. Amari Allen added a tip-in as the Pioneers trailed by one.
But Chowan went on a 5-0 spurt capped off by a Robinson layup as the Hawks led 44-38 with 15:30 on the clock. TU answered with a 6-0 run thanks for four points from Jackson and Swindell's two free throws with 12:46 on the clock to tie the game at 44-44.
Five straight points led to a 10-2 run for the Hawks to push their lead out to 54-46 with 9:15 on the scoreboard.
Tusculum would get as close as four, but Chowan would maintain its distance before settling for the 75-68 victory.
The Hawks shot at a steady 29-of-55 for 53 percent for the game and out-rebounded TU by a 35-30 margin. The Pioneers shot 14-of-25 in the first half (56%) but went cold for the final 20 minutes connecting on only 27 percent (7-of-26) as TU finished the game at 41 percent.
Tusculum accounted for 13 steals in the contest, resulting into 16 turnovers by the Hawks.
The Pioneers return to action on Tuesday as they travel to North Greenville for a 7 p.m. contest against the Trailblazers.
