Box Score RICHMOND, VA- The Chowan University men's basketball team dropped an 87-77 decision to Virginia Union University on Saturday evening.  The Hawks conclude the regular season with a 19-8 overall record, 11-5 mark in CIAA play and 5-5 finish in the CIAA Northern Division.  The Panthers improve to 14-13 on the year, 7-8 in the league and 6-3 in divisional play after the victory. 

Kortez Smith paced the Hawks with 18 points in the setback.  Marco Haskins added 16 points in the loss with Jeremy Smith notching 14 points.  Kortez Smith and Haskins each hauled in five rebounds for Chowan. 

Ray Anderson led the effort for Virginia Union with 19 points in the victory.  Robert Valentine added 15 points while Tavon Mealy and Danny McElroy tallied 14 points and 11 points, respectively.  McElroy grabbed nine rebounds (six offensive, three defensive). 

The Hawks opened the contest with a quick 7-2 lead before back-to-back three-pointers by Kory Colley and Akanni Salako gave the Panthers an 8-7 lead.  A layup and jumper by Anderson pushed Virginia Union ahead 12-7 by the 16:26 mark.  The Panthers led by as many as 24 points (44-20) during the first half before taking a 48-38 advantage heading into halftime. 

Chowan battled to cut the deficit to five points (55-50) with 14:07 left in the game, but two free throws by Valentine followed by two layups by Mealy allowed the Panthers to pull away 60-50 with 12:34 left to play.  The Hawks were unable to regain the momentum, trailing by double-digit points for the remainder of the contest before falling to the Panthers 87-77.

The Hawks head to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the CIAA Tournament February 22^nd-27^th.  Details regarding match-ups and game times will be released as additional information becomes available.