The Virginia Union Panthers’ run in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament came to an unfortunate end, following a 66-62 loss in an overtime thriller against Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Bobby Gardner led the Panthers off the bench with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Malachi Dark and Noah Richardson-Keys each scored 13 points, with the latter adding two steals.
After jumping out to a 9-0 lead, IUP went on a run of its own, scoring 14 unanswered points in a run that saw them make 4-of-6 three-point attempts.
Virginia Union kept the game close thanks to the efforts of Gardner, scoring 10 of their next 13 points to tie the game 22-22 with 3:54 until halftime.
Entering the second half with a 30-25 lead, Indiana-Pennsylvania kept up the pressure, extending its lead to a game-high 10 points with 12:14 remaining.
However, the Panthers responded with a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take back the lead.
This led to a struggle down the stretch of regulation in which both teams traded big shots back and forth in clutch time.
Virginia Union looked to have the win in the final seconds when Gardner hit an off-balance shot in a crowded lane to give his team a 56-54 lead with 17 seconds left.
Though it would not be the case, as IUP drew a foul on the other end, hitting both free throws to tie the game up and send it to overtime.
While the Panthers would hit the first shot of overtime to briefly take the lead, a key three-pointer was all IUP needed to cruise the rest of the way, ending VUU’s magical season.
Virginia Union ends its 2025-2026 campaign with a 25-6 overall record, the most it has had in a season in two decades.
This included an upset win in the first round of the Division II tournament against the Atlantic Region two-seed West Liberty, marking their first postseason win since 2023.
