Richmond, Va. — Virginia Union University earned a 73-64 victory over the University of the District of Columbia on Wednesday night at Barco-Stevens Hall.

Malachi Dark powered the Panthers with a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Noah Richardson Keys added 15 points and five steals. Nemo Johnson also reached double figures with 11 points off the bench.

VUU controlled the glass with a 34-28 rebounding advantage and maintained its strong start to the season, improving to 4-1. UDC dropped to 0-4 with the loss.

"We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game with our former players now competing at UDC," said VUU Head Men's Basketball Coach Jay Butler. "I thought we played well in spurts, but we need to be more consistent on both ends of the floor for a full 40 minutes. Malachi continues to be a force offensively, and Noah has really been a pleasant surprise with his production on both sides of the ball. He leads the CIAA in steals and is doing a great job scoring the basketball. I was also happy to see Nemo Johnson get going tonight — he's one of the best athletes on our team, and we need his athleticism."

Next game: Virginia Union hosts Livingstone College at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 29, at Barco-Stevens Hall in Richmond, Va.