The Virginia Union offense ground to a halt in the second half as they fell to Indiana (PA) 60-45 in the Atlantic Regional semifinal of the NCAA DII Tournament Sunday.
VUU lead for much of the first half until Jaylen Stewart’s three-pointer pulled the Crimson Hawks even with the Panthers at 22-all with 4:29 to go.
A Stewart jumper 47 seconds later gave IUP its first lead of the game. The Crimson Hawks would stretch their advantage to as much as seven before ultimately taking a 30-27 lead into halftime.
Virginia Union was able to draw within a single point on two occasions early in the second half at 30-29 and 33-32, but they would be unable to reclaim the lead.
IUP, the No.1 ranked defensive team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, was able to turn up the screws on VUU, holding the Panthers to 21.2% from the field and allowing just 18 points in the second half.
With their offense stymied, the Panthers were unable to keep pace with the Crimson Hawks, falling behind by as much as 20 points during a 13-minute stretch in which they missed 21 consecutive field goal attempts.
The Panthers shot 25% from the field overall and went 4 of 17 from 3-point range. Tahj Harding led the Panthers as the lone VUU scorer in double figures with 12 points.
