Box Score MURFREESBORO- The Chowan University men's basketball team suffered a 69-62 setback to the visiting Bears of Shaw University on Saturday afternoon.  The Hawks move to 7-4 overall and 1-1in the league with the loss while the Bears improve to 6-6 on the season and 1-1 against CIAA competition. 

Kortez Smith led the Hawks with 17 points in the loss while Kyree Bethel and Tiron Brown added 14 and 12 points, respectively.  Josh Mellette and Warren Powers each grabbed six rebounds in the contest.

The Bears had five players score double-digit points in the win.  Joe Reid led the effort with 17 points.  Jamar Cooper and Larry Richardson scored 12 points each while Koron Reed and DeAaron Ward chipped in 10 points apiece for Shaw.

Richardson started the contest with a three-pointer for Shaw.  With the score tied 11-11 at the 11:20 mark, a layup by Bethel gave the Hawks their first advantage of the contest.  Chowan clung to a narrow lead until Ward's jumper with 5:33 remaining before halftime restored the lead and the momentum to the Bears. Shaw led by as many as seven points (26-19) at the 4:15 mark but the Hawks used a 10-2 run to close out the half with a 29-28 lead.

Brown opened the second half with a three-pointer for Chowan to restore the lead to the Hawks. Chowan maintained the advantage until the 16:09 mark when Cooper's layup handed the Bears the upper hand once more. The Hawks managed to tie the score 45-45 at the 10:26 mark using Smith's layup, but Shaw pulled away on the next possession with a basket by Cooper before closing out the contest with the 69-62 win.

The Hawks return to action on January 5^th when they host Saint Augustine's University.  The CIAA crossover contest is slated to tip-off at 7:30pm in the Helms Center.