Virginia Union University's men's basketball team reached the 20th-win plateau for the first time in five years as the Panthers downed a stubborn Elizabeth City State University team 57-51 on Wednesday, February 16, at Barco-Stevens Hall in Richmond, Va.

The 2016-17 team won 22 games, and now the Panthers have a record of 20-6 overall and 12-3 in the CIAA.

The win was also the 24th straight home win for the Panthers and marked the first time since the Dave Robbins era that VUU finished a season undefeated at home.

Virginia Union's Tyriek Railey and Raemaad Wright led the Panthers in scoring with 10 points apiece while Robert Osborne led VUU on the boards with nine rebounds.

"This was a hard-fought win tonight against a tough Elizabeth City team," said VUU Head Men's Basketball Coach Jay Butler.  "We struggled offensively tonight and missed a lot of free throws, but defense kept us in the game, and we made plays down the stretch to get the win on Senior Night.  We wanted to send seniors Tyriek Railey, Jordan Peebles, and Kelvin Calhoun out with a win on their last home game."

Elizabeth City State fell to 13-12 overall and 6-9 in CIAA play.

VUU will wrap up the 2021-22 regular season when it travels to Raleigh, N.C., to face Shaw University at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 19.