RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia Union's Panthers exploded from the opening tip and used that momentum to capture an 80-70 victory against visiting Bowie State on Wednesday (2/19) evening inside of Barco-Stevens Hall.
 
The Bulldogs dropped to 16-11 overall, 8-6 in conference play, and 4-3 against division opponents. The Panthers advanced to 17-10 overall on the season, stand 10-4 in conference play and 5-2 against division opponents.  
 
"Quite simply, they were better than us from the first minute to the last and I give them all the credit deserved … We just have to now get ready to win a game on Saturday", said Bowie State Head Coach following the game.
 
In the first half, Bowie State had one of their worst shooting performances of the season. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 24 percent from the field, making 10-of-41 field goals and knocked down 20 percent (2-of-10) from long distance.  The half belonged to Virginia Union as they held a lead as high as 27 points, before entering halftime with a commanding 54-30 lead. They also held an advantage in the paint (30-16), points off turnovers (15-5) and fast break points (18-2).
 
Bowie State flipped the switch in the second half as they shot 46 percent from the field, making 13-of-28 field goals and knocked down 50 percent (5-of-10) off its shots from deep. However, the Bulldogs could not stop the Panthers on offense. Bowie State continued to play catch up until the final buzzer sounded with Virginia Union exiting the gym with the victory.
 
Junior Justin Route (Washington, D.C.) led the three Bulldog double-digit scorers with 15 points. Senior Saiquan Jamison (Upper Marlboro, Md.) added 14 points and fellow senior Juwan Smith (Lexington Park, Md.) followed up with 12 points.
 
Bowie State won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Virginia Union 48-33 and BSU's bench outscored VUU's bench 30-19.
 
As a team, Virginia Union shot 52 percent from the field, making 34-of-66 field goals and knocked down 28 percent (7-of-25) from deep. The Panthers also held advantages in points in the paint (52-28), point off turnovers (23-15 and fast break points (30-6).
 
Terrell Leach led the five Panthers double-digit scoring with 24 points and Charles Tart chipped in 17 points. Tyriek Railey and Raemaad Wright both accounted for 13 points each while Jordan Peebles followed up with 11 points.
 
The Bulldogs will host Lincoln University of Pennsylvania in the regular season finale for both teams. Game time is set for 4 p.m. and will feature a special Senior Day presentation between the women and men's game.