The atmosphere was electric in the storied home court of the Virginia Union University basketball team as the Panthers took on Benedict College.  There was a buzz even before the game began.
 
With the crowd on their feet throughout most of the second half, Virginia Union's Terrell Leach hit a jumper with 34 seconds left to give VUU a 65-63 lead.  The shot sparked the student crowd into a frenzy which almost resulted in play being stopped.
 
VUU's Jordan Peebles then added to the cheering when he hit not one, but two powerful dunks in the final 20 seconds as VUU defeated Benedict College 69-63 on Tuesday, November 19, at Barco-Stevens Hall in Richmond, Va.
 
As the final buzzer sounded, the crowd rushed the floor to celebrate the Panthers' victory.
 
"First, I thought the crowd was amazing tonight," said VUU Head Men's Basketball Coach Jay Butler.  "It feels good to get the first win with this new group of players.  Defensively, the first half was pretty good. I thought we got complacent in the second half but picked it up in the last three minutes of the game, especially when we needed stops.  Terrell has been battling injuries so far and he came out and shot the ball extremely well tonight.  Jordan Peebles and Raemaad Wright did a good job rebounding tonight."
 
Leach finished the night with a game-high 26 points while Peebles and Dedric Byrd each finished with 10 points while Wright grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Virginia Union now opens the CIAA portion of it's schedule when the Panthers tip off against Livingstone College on Thursday, November 21, at Barco-Stevens Hall in Richmond, Va.  It will be the first double-header of the season, with the Lady Panthers starting at 5:30 p.m. and the men starting at 7:30 p.m.