ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team was defeated by Virginia Union, 65-58, Monday afternoon in a non-conference game at the Carter Center.
The Mountain Lions (2-3) trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half and still trailed by nine, 38-29, at the break before a second-half rally came up short.
CU never let Virginia Union (3-1) get away as the biggest second half lead for the Panthers was the same halftime lead, but Concord was unable to work the deficit lower than two possessions until a dunk from junior forward
Boubacar Djigo trimmed the margin to 56-54 with 4:06 remaining.
After a stop on the defensive end, and a rebound from Djigo—one of 20 in the game—the Mountain Lions had a look to take the lead, but the three-pointer rimmed out. VUU got the advantage back to six points, 60-54, with 1:45 remaining. Sophomore forward
Kraig Gilbert used two free throws on the following CU possession to work the deficit back to four points.
But, the Panthers were able to close the game out at the free-throw line.
CU contained Virginia Union for the first three minutes of the game, opening up a 7-2 edge after a Gilbert triple at the 17:24 mark of the first half.
The Mountain Lions led for the first five minutes of the game until a pair of free throws gave the Panthers a 10-9 edge at the 14:53 mark. VUU led for the remainder of the game.
Djigo had Concord's first 20-20 game since Jametrius Wade at West Virginia State in January 2015. He finished the day with 24 points to go with 20 rebounds. Sixteen of Djigo's rebounds came in the second half.
Gilbert finished the day with 16 points on an efficient 5-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 showing from the foul line.
Concord assisted on 14 of 22 made shots. Sophomore guard
Cole Lambert notched four assists. Freshman guard
Micah Young tallied three assists.
The Mountain Lions are off until December 3 when they open up Mountain East Conference play at West Virginia State.
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