Final Stats

RICHMOND, VA – The Livingstone men's basketball team had few answers for the hot shooting of Virginia Union Saturday night as the Panthers defeated the Blue Bears 88-68.

Livingstone had a horrific offensive start as the Blue Bears failed to connect on a field goal for more than five minutes of the first half.  Over that same time the Panthers went on a 10-1 run.  Ethan Anderson had Livingstone's first five points and the Blue Bears trailed 14-5 with 12:09 to play in the first half.

The Blue Bears were able to battle back to tie the game at 17-17 with 8:07 on the clock.  Just as soon as Livingstone was able to come back, the Panthers went on a quick 7-0 run to take a 24-17 edge with 6:25 left.  Virginia Union was able to take a 33-26 lead into the break.

Virginia Union started the second half just as the first, going on a 6-0 run through the first two minutes to open a 39-26 advantage.  The Blue Bears trailed by only eight with 14:05 left in the contest, but the Panthers 12-0 run to open a 54-34 lead with 11:27 remaining.  Over the final 10 minutes, the Blue Bears were only able to get as close as 13 points before falling 88-68.

The Blue Bears were led by sophomore Mark Thomas who scored a career-high 24 points Saturday on 8-of-14 shooting from the field including 5-of-9 from three-point range.  Ethan Anderson also added 16 points and seven rebounds while Nasir Austin led all players with nine boards.

The Blue Bears shot 34.8 percent from the field including 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.  Virginia Union shot 55 percent from the field on 33-of-60 shooting.

Livingstone will end its four-game road trip on Monday when they take on the Bulldogs of Bowie State University at 7:30 p.m.