Panthers edge Chowan
Published 10:46 am Tuesday, January 31, 2017
RICHMOND, VA – Virginia Union University’s Tavon Mealy hit a jumper in the paint with nine ticks left on the clock to give the Panthers a 70-69 win over Chowan here Saturday night in CIAA Divisional play.
Chowan falls to 13-6 overall and 6-4 in the CIAA after the game. The Panthers improve to 17-5 overall and 9-1 in the CIAA.
Chowan’s Andres Lopez (right, #5) gets his shot pinned on the glass in a recent game. Lopez had a team high 24 points thanks to seven three-pointers, but Virginia Union won 70-69 Saturday in Richmond on a late shot. | Photo by Qwi’wania Miller
Junior guard Andrew Lopez scored a game-high 25 points, including draining seven three-pointers. Besides Lopez, Jeremy Smith scored 11 points and had seven rebounds while Joe Goodwin chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
For VUU, Mealy ended the game with 16 points and Ray Anderson scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Chowan trailed the Panthers 38-34 at the end of the first half but bounced back in the second half. Lopez hit a three-pointer at the 11:28 mark of the second half to spread the Hawks lead to ten points at 56-46. The Panthers chipped away at the Hawks lead over the last five minutes of play. At the two-and-a-half minute mark, VUU’s Everett Patterson drained a three ball to knot the game at 66-all. After a defensive stop, the Panthers added to their lead with under a minute to play at 68-66.
Lopez showed up big again after hitting another three-pointer with just 19 ticks left in the game, giving the Hawks a 69-68 lead. But VUU answered on the ensuing possession when Mealy backed down the Chowan defenders and scored the game-winning jumper with :09 seconds left in the game.
The Hawks traveled to Livingstone College Monday for a make-up cross divisional game that was not completed by press time.