RICHMOND, Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team could not overcome a first-half run by Virginia Union Monday night at Barco-Stevens Hall as it lost 95-78 in non-conference action.

The Panthers (8-3) finished the first half on an 18-6 run over the final six minutes of the first 20 minutes to lead 52-37 at halftime.

CU (4-5) was able to close to within 13 points on several occasions, but could not get the deficit into single digits throughout the second half.  

In the early going, senior guard Cam Shannon gave the Mountain Lions their first lead, 11-10, at the 16:43 mark of the first half. Virginia Union answered with an 8-2 run that led to an 18-13 lead, and a 30-20 edge later in the first half.

However, the Mountain Lions fought back.

After a timeout at the 9:39 mark of the first half, CU responded with a 11-4 run that was highlighted by a trio of three-pointers, one each from senior guards Aaron Miller and Michael Sanchez and senior forward Stephen Thompson. Junior forward Babe Murphy also converted his first two points of the game at the tail end of the run.

The Concord spurt was answered by the elongated VUU run to end the half.

Thompson finished with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting that included three three-pointers. Sanchez provided 12 points and six assists. Miller and Shannon each finished with 14 points while Murphy tallied 10 points and collected seven rebounds in the game.

CU had 19 assists on 27 made baskets. The Mountain Lions shot their highest percentage at the foul line this season 88.2 percent (15-for-17).

Concord closes out the calendar year with a home matchup versus Bluefield State 6:00 p.m. Wednesday.