BRISTOL, Tenn. – The third time was not the charm for the Union College Bulldogs Thursday against No. 20 Bluefield (Va.) College. Union, the No. 7 seed, dropped a 100-82 Appalachian Athletic Conference quarterfinal contest to the second-seeded Rams at Viking Hall in Bristol, Tenn.

The 2007-08 season ends for Union with a 19-13 record while Bluefield advances to the semifinals with a 24-6 mark. The Rams will play the winner of the Milligan (Tenn.) College and UVa-Wise contest Friday. Union lost all three meetings with Bluefield this year.

Union fought back to trail 64-61 with nine minutes to go and once again Bluefield pulled away down the stretch to lead by as many as 20 points in the final moments. Earlier in the second half, the Rams owned a 14 point lead.

The game did not start well for Union as Bluefield’s Omar Reed scored five of his game-high 30 points before the Bulldogs could score. The Rams went on to build a 13-point advantage over Union, 19-6, over the first six minutes of the game.

The Bulldogs battled back and reeled off nine straight points in a four minute span. A basket from Kevin Jones (Radcliff, Ky.) made the score 21-19 halfway through the first 20 minutes. All Bluefield done after that was pour in 14 points in a row to regain control. The Rams would eventually lead by as many as 17 before the half came to an end. With four points from Brian Kirk (Augusta, Ky.), Union went into the break down 47-34.

Kirk finished with a team-high 15 points while Chris Stunson (Richmond, Ky.) added 11. Kearney Demus (Lexington, Ky.) also scored 10 points for the Bulldogs. Freshman Michael Hester (Independence, Ky.) only scored nine points, but he dished out a game-best five assists and recorded four steals.

To go with Reed’s 30 points, James Chapman scored 19 points. Coryon Ross and Johnny Witherspoon accounted for 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Bluefield held a slim 41-37 advantage in the rebounding category. The Rams also made 52.9 percent (37-of-70) of their shots from the field. It included a 11-for-20 performance from behind the 3-point line. Union held a better field-goal percentage, 53.6 percent (30-of-56). The Bulldogs also drained 4-of-10 of their 3-point attempts.

Bulldog Notes

• This is Union’s first loss on a neutral court (6-1).
• When opponents score more than 90 points, the Bulldogs are 0-3.
• Kirk has scored in double-digits in 10 games this season and 17 in his career.
• The Bulldogs are 4-10 when behind at halftime.