Roddric Ross' three-point basket with 2.6 seconds left in overtime capped off a rally that saw the Johnson C. Smith golden Bulls erase a ten point deficit in the final 4:44 of regulation to defeat the Chowan Hawks 77-74 Monday night in the opening round game of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Tournament at the Bojangles coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Golden Bulls (9-17) advance to the next round to play Claflin University on Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. at the Bojangles Coliseum.   Chowan concludes their season with a 12-15 record.

Ross scored 11 of his team-high 22 points in the final 4:44 of regulation as the Golden Bulls rallied from a ten point deficit to force the extra session.  Ross also scored the opening basket in overtime to give the Golden Bulls their first lead since early in the second half.  He also had a team high seven rebounds.  Justice Goodloe led the team with five assists.

Gus Rowland led all scorers with 24 points and was one of three Hawk players in double figures.   Joining Rowland was Xavier young (19 points) and Michael Kelly (13 points).  Demetrius Sanders, Timothy bing and Kelly paced the Hawks on the glass with eight rebounds apiece.

JCSU opened a five point lead in the overtime with back-to-back baskets from Goodloe and a three-pointer from Nenad Milenkovic before Rowland sank two free throws and tied the game with a long three-ball with 22.6 seconds left.   Following a timeout, the golden Bulls worked the ball before Ross broke open for the game winner, hitting the basket from just outside the arc on the left foul line extended.

Michael Roberson started JCSU's rally with a three-point basket with 3:50 left in regulation, cutting the Hawk lead to 60-53.  A Rowland three-ball at the 2:34 mark pushed the Hawk lead to nine.  Ross then took over, hitting three long range jumpers over the next 67 seconds to  cut the deficit to three at 67-64.  Cayse Minor made three of four free throws in the final 1:08 to send the game into overtime.

The Golden Bulls opened the second half with a 10-5 run to retake the lead at 36-35.  The Hawks countered with seven straight points, to go back up by six 42-36 and added an 8-1 run to take a 57-45 lead with 7:02 remaining, with both runs fueled by three-point baskets from Young.  After a three-ball from Minor, two free throws from Kelly pushed the lead back to double figures before the Golden Bulls began their rally. 

In the opening half, The Hawks scored the first four points of the game and used a 10-4 run to take their biggest lead of the period, 17-11 at the 10:14 mark.  The Golden Bulls countered with an 11-2 spurt to  take a 22-19 lead at the 6:40 mark before back-to-back three point field goals from Timothy Bing and Gus Rowland swung the momentum back towards the Hawks as the teams headed into the final media timeout of the half.   Aaron Adair's layup brought the Golden Bulls within one at 25-24 before the JCSU offense went cold with five straight misses over the next 3:44, allowing the Hawks to build their lead back to six at 30-24.  Antonio Harper's bucket with just ten seconds left pulled JCSU back within four at the half, 30-26.

For the game, the Golden Bulls shot 41% from the field (25-61), 36.4% from three point range (12-33) and 62.5% (15024) from the free throw line.  Chowan shot 41.2% (21-51) from the field, 41.7%  (10-24) from three point range and 78.6% (22-28) from the free throw line.