Box Score

SALISBURY, NC – The Livingstone men's basketball team dropped their first conference game of the season and snapped a five-game winning streak Saturday as they fell to the Virginia Union Panthers 85-72.

With the loss the Blue Bears fall to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the CIAA while the Panthers improve to 6-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Sophomore forward Greg Henry led the Blue Bears with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  Also in double figures was junior forward Jarred Stockton with 17 points and senior guard Aaron Caruthers with 18 points. 

Virginia Union came out and took the first four points of the of the game and led 5-2 five minutes in.  Livingstone then went on a 6-0 run to go up 8-5, but the Panthers came back and took a 16-10 lead.  The Blue Bears slowly chipped away at the Panther lead and regained a one-point edge with 9:21 left in the first half. 

The Panthers regained a five-point lead at 25-20 with 5:47 to play, but a 7-0 run by the Blue Bears gave Livingstone a 27-25 lead.  Late in the first half the Blue Bears led by five with under a minute to play, but Virginia Union closed the first half on a 4-0 run to get within one at the break. 

In the second half the Blue Bears came out and regained the advantage and led by seven with 14:43 left in the game.  The Blue Bear lead hovered in the seven to eight point range until just over 10 minutes to play.  Livingstone led 52-46 with 11:29 to play, but Virginia Union went on an 11-0 run to take a five-point edge at 57-52, a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.  Virginia Union took the game 85-72.

As a team the Blue Bears shot 31 percent from the field including 27 percent from three-point range.  Livingstone committed 18 turnovers which produced 24 Panther points.

The Blue Bears will be back in action on Monday, January 4 at 7:30 p.m. when they host Virginia State.