CHEYNEY, Pa. – A large and boisterous came crowd came to Cope Hall to see the home opener for the Cheyney University mens' basketball team, but the visitors from Virginia Union University jumped out to a 21-3 advantage en route to a 90-63 triumph Wednesday night.

Rafiq Marshall led the Wolves (0-3) with 11 points with a career-high five steals, three Wolves cracked the double-figure mark.

James Paige paced the Panthers (3-0) with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead four players in double-digits. Virginia Union shot 19-25 (.760) from the field and 12-13 (.923) from the line in the first half.

The young Wolves had difficulty converting on open shots in the paint throughout the contest and trailed 53-34 at the break.

The night was not without some thrills, thanks to a couple of put back dunks from Dikemba Amugo who scored 10 points and a cuff slam from Todd Hughes of the Panthers that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Imir Bailey also score 10 for Cheyney, Basir Fulmore added nine points and a team-high five assists. Olin Ugo came off the bench to score eight points and grab a team-best seven rebounds and Andre Allen was credited with seven steals and matched Fulmore with five assists.

???????Cheyney moves on to PSAC action this weekend with a pair of crossover games against the western division.

On Saturday Mercyhurst University will be at Cope Hall for a doubleheader with the women's contest scheduled to tip-off first at 1:00 pm followed by the men's game vs the defending conference tournament champion Lakers.

On Sunday Gannon University is in town with the women's game scheduled for 1:00 PM.