MURFREESBORO – While the Chowan University men dropped a heartbreaker on a near buzzer-beater, the women’s basketball team held off a late comeback to win their eighth of the season.

It was the Hawks against the University of Mount Olive at the site of each school: the men in Murfreesboro and the women in the Pickle Capital.

The Chowan women – who rose to 10^th in the latest regional poll – continued their upward trend as the Hawks defeated the Women of Troy 80-77 in non-conference action on the road on Wednesday evening, upping their record on the young season to 8-1.

Dhyamond Crenshaw paced the Hawks with 27 points, five assists, and eight rebounds, scoring 20 of her game-high in the first half. Chantel Roberts chipped in with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Danielle Weldon scored 10 points and hauled in seven boards.

Down a point after the first quarter, Chowan saw Mt. Olive build that lead up to seven, 30-23, before Crenshaw, Weldon, and Roberts got it down to four, 32-28. Both teams would have runs before Crenshaw scored eight straight and it was still a one-point Chowan deficit at halftime, 47-46.

An 11-4 third quarter run had Chowan up by six, 57-51, early in the period. Each team added ten more points before the horn for a 67-61 Hawks lead headed to the fourth.

Despite Mt. Olive chipping away, Chowan stayed in front, and were ahead by three, 71-68, with five minutes left. The Trojans got within a point twice down the stretch, 76-75 and 78-77, but never tied or took the lead. Crenshaw sank a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to make for the final score, 80-77.

Meanwhile, in Murfreesboro, the Chowan men fell on the final possession of the game – their only lead – as the Trojans stole a 65-64 win also on Wednesday evening. The loss left Chowan at .500 (4-4) after a 4-0 start.

Freshman Brandon Mayhan posted a career-high 17 points to pace the Hawks, while Tim Hewett (13), Gus Rowland (12), and Robert Grubbs (11) chipped in with more double-figure scoring. Dino Muminovic notched 10 rebounds and four blocks while Rowland added six assists.

Chowan had the momentum early in the contest jumping out to a 20-11 lead. Mount Olive would start to chip away at the deficit, trimming it to single-digits with back-to-back treys, before Rowland connected from the floor to end the first half and give the Hawks a 10-point lead, 37-27.

Hewett and Muminovic electrified the crowd with a pair of dunks in the second half, but Mt. Olive trimmed the lead to five before Brandon Mayhan helped push the Hawks’ advantage to nine, 62-53. But, three straight triples by the Trojans knotted the contest up at 62-all with 45 seconds remaining.

Tim Hewett would put the Hawks up 64-62 with 39 seconds remaining before UMO missed two straight attempts but grabbed their own misses. Mount Olive then called a timeout with nine ticks left on the clock to draw up a play.  The Trojans faked a hand-off and found a wide open Jamal Matin behind the arc. He then swished the game-winner as the Hawks weren’t able to get it past mid-court as time expired.

Chowan travels to face Shaw – men and women – in the CIAA opener for both teams today (Tuesday, Dec. 12).  Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. from C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium in Raleigh.