Livingstone Blue Bears Roll 67-52 Over Chowan Behind Mark Thomas' Career-High 28 Points

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  –  Mark “AJ” Thomas scored a career-high 28 points as the Livingstone men's basketball team, after a slow start, cruised to a 67-52 victory over the Chowan University Hawks in the opening round of the 2012 CIAA Tournament hosted at the Time Warner Cable Arena.

Livingstone couldn't have imagined a slower start as the Blue Bears went 1-for-13 from the field to start the game and had only two points through the first nine minutes. Luckily for the Blue Bears, Chowan wasn't hitting shots either and Livingstone trailed only 7-2.

Despite the slow start, the Blue Bears responded in a big way, fueled by Mark “AJ” Thomas. Livingstone went on a 19-3 run with Thomas hitting three three-pointers and having 11 total points to take a 21-10 lead with 5:55 left in the first half.

Chowan got back within four points of the Blue Bears with 149 left in the opening half, but Livingstone was able to close the half on a 6-2 run to take a 30-22 lead into the break.

The Hawks came out and knocked down a three-pointer to start the second half, but the Blue Bears responded with a 15-0 run to open a 20-point cushion, 45-25, with 14:39 left in the game. Chowan fought back on an 8-0 run and trailed 45-33 with 10:20 on the clock.

Chowan continued to trail by 12 at 52-40 with 7:19 remaining, but the Blue Bears rattled off seven-straight points to regain a 19-point edge with 5:55 remaining. The Blue Bears were able to maintain a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game to take home the victory.

Mark Thomas scored his 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range. Also in double figures was Trone Jackson with 15 points and Greg Henry with 11. Tyler Johnson led the Blue Bears with 11 rebounds

The Blue Bears shot 48 percent for the game including a blistering 59 percent in the second half. Livingstone also connected on 45.5 percent of its three-point attempts and 66.7 percent of its free-throw attempts.

Livingstone will now play Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against the Trojans of Virginia State University in the second round of the 2012 CIAA Tournament.

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