Virginia Union Headed to Elite Eight

Virginia Union Headed to Elite Eight

March 14, 2006

Chris Greene, Duan Crockett and Darius Hargrove each scored four points in the final 1:45 Tuesday, leading Virginia Union past Georgia College and State 76-73 in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic regional championship.

The Panthers (28-3) won their 11th straight game and are 8-0 in regional finals under coach Dave Robbins. The defending national champions move on to the Elite Eight March 22 in Springfield, Mass., to face Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (25-7) at 2:30 p.m. on March 22.

The Bobcats (22-9) blitzed the Panthers to take a 22-10 lead with 13:03 remaining in the first half. Jeremy Mayweather had 18 points for the Bobcats over that span and finished the first half with 13 rebounds.

The Panthers rallied to tie the game at 31 on Darius Hargrove's 3-pointer. They held the Bobcats scoreless over the final 4:51 of the first half, scoring eight straight points to take a 39-34 lead.

"They jumped on us early," Robbins said. "We fought back somehow and found a way to get ahead."

The Bobcats rallied to tie the game at 57 with 6:42 remaining on Aaron Clark's field goal. Over the remainder of the game, there were four ties, six lead changes and no team led by more than five.

The Panthers took the lead for good on Crockett's short jumper in the lane, which gave Virginia Union a 66-65 lead with 1:45 remaining. Greene and Hargrove had layups to stretch the lead to 70-65 with 45 seconds remaining. Crockett, Greene and Hargrove each hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to maintain the Panthers' edge.

Georgia College and State came out with a triangle and two defense. Robbins said it was the first time his team had seen it, but it was the Bobcats' pressure that bothered the Panthers more than the trick defense.

Greene said when he saw the triangle and two, "my eyes lit up. I thrive on the roll of the back-seat driver," he said. "I make sure I'm aggressive and score as much as I can."

Greene was the tournament's most valuable player. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Hargrove and Virginia Union's Brad Byerson. Mayweather and Clark made the team from Georgia College and State University.

Mayweather had tendinitis in his leg, which limited his playing time for the last six games. Following his fast start, he was held scoreless the rest of the way. Clark poured in a career-high 29 and Bryan Harrison added 10.

"I didn't know if Mayweather could go tonight," Georgia College and State coach Terry Sellers said. "He had a great start. It was the kind of play that earned him the Peachbelt Conference player of the year."

Greene led the Panthers with a career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. Hargrove had 19 points and Crockett 18.