BUENA VISTA, Va. Ade Swann had another electric performance as
he scored 23-points to lead the Southern Virginia Men's Basketball
team to a 91-66 win over Bridgewater. Swann had an overwhelming
performance for the Knights as he led the team in points (23),
rebounds (5), assist (7) and steals (5). Swann's quickness and
assertiveness led to easy points for the Knights and helped them
pull away from the ten point lead they had at halftime.
"He (Swann) was explosive tonight," said Head Coach Brian
Pendleton. "He put us in great situations, and we converted a
majority of our chances. The rhythm was good, and we played at the
tempo we wanted."
The Knights were able to jump out to a 23-14 lead in the first
half and extended that lead to 15 with 8:00 left in the game. Cory
Evans continued his fine form for SVU as he put in 16-points and
pulled down two rebounds. Earlier in the day, the USCAA had
announced Evans was the player of the week for his performance in
the three previous games. He had averaged 19.3 points and averaged
7 rebounds as the Knights went 2-1 against NAIA competition. Early
foul trouble hampered his effectiveness, but he made critical
three-pointers to swing momentum for the Knights at different
points in the game, to add further proof of his player of the week
credentials.
Despite the solid play from Southern Virginia, Bridgewater did
not go away in the first half and whittled the 15-point lead down
to only 10 as the two teams headed into the half.
"We knew that this game was not over at the half," said
Pendleton. "They have quality, and if they can get their style of
play working, then they can be a very difficult team to play. We
knew we needed to step up from the first whistle in the second."
Indeed, Bridgewater came out determined and forced a quick easy
basket, followed by a strong defensive stand to force the Knights
into an early timeout. The message got through to the hosts, as
they proceeded to go on a 15-6 run in the next four minutes to pull
away. The 20-point gap SVU earned stayed relatively the same for
the majority of the second term. The teams traded baskets as SVU
kept the visitors at bay.
Late three pointers from Chris Lewis and Bryce Pendleton boosted
SVU's lead to the 30-point mark, and finished off the game as a
contest. Lewis and Pendleton both recorded double digits as they
put in 18 and 15 respectively.
SVU finished the night shooting 55% from the field and 61% from
3-point range as they went 11 for 18 beyond the arc. The Knights
shot almost 76% from the free-throw line. SVU finally had a game
where the bench did not score over 20-points as the second team put
in 17, led by Casey Nye's 5.
SVU's record is now 5-2. The Knights will be back in action
after the Thanksgiving Break when they travel to play in the
Christopher Newport Tournament Nov. 27-28.
