FERRUM, Va. - Host Ferrum College never trailed in a 70-57 non-league men's basketball victory over Shenandoah University Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers (5-4) scored the opening bucket of the game, and save for 21-second stretch following a pair of Gabriel Gonzalez free throws that tied the game at 2-2, led the whole way versus Shenandoah (3-6).

FC answered those Gonzalez free throws with a 21-10 run over an 8:59 span to push its lead into double digits, 23-12, for the first time all game.

Another pair of Gonzalez free throws, at 7:48, stopped the run, but the damage was done. Ferrum did not let its lead fall below eight points the rest of the way.

The two teams split the final 28 points of the first to make it 37-26 in favor of the Panthers at the break.

Ferrum erased any thought of an SU comeback by scoring 12 of the initial 17 points of the second to take a 49-31 lead with 16:02 remaining.

Coach Rob Pryor's club attempted to climb back out of it with a 12-4 spurt of its own, but the Hornets were unable to get closer than 10 points for the remainder of the contest.

Junior Aaron Patterson paced the visitors with 13 points with Gonzalez adding 11 and Malcolm Clark 10 along with a career-high 17 rebounds.

Shenandoah shot 37 percent to the Panthers' 43 percent and saw FC hold a 39-33 advantage on the glass.

The Hornets are off for the next 10 days due to Christmas break and return to action on December 29 versus former USA South rival Christopher Newport in the opening round of the CNU Captains Shootout. Stevenson and the University of Scranton are the other side of the bracket in that tournament.

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