Box Score
RICHMOND, VA - Virginia Union's Tavon Mealy hit a jumper in the paint with :09 ticks on the clock to give the Panthers a 70-69 win over Chowan on Saturday night. 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.
Junior guard
Andrew Lopez scored a game-high 25 points, including draining seven three-pointers.
Chowan trailed the Panthers 38-34 at the end of the first half but 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 2:32 mark, VUU's Everett Patterson drained a three ball to knot the game at 66-66. 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. VUU answered on the ensuing possession when Mealy backed down the Chowan defenders and scored the game-winning jumper with :09 left in the game.
Besides Lopez's game-high 25 points,
Jeremy Smith scored 11 points and had seven rebounds.
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.
The Hawks will travel to Livingstone College on Monday, January 30th in a make-up cross divisional game. Tip off is at 7:30pm in Salisburg, North Carolina.
