BUENA VISTA, Va.—Hoping for its first conference win and first win at home this season, the Southern Virginia University men's basketball team was defeated by visiting Frostburg State, 83-58, Wednesday evening at Knight Sports Arena.

After both teams struggled to buy a basket for two and a half minutes, the Bobcats jumped to a 12-4 lead three minutes later off a Nick Smoot trey. Following a pair of Ben Canevari free throws and a layup, the Knights pulled ahead 15-13 after a Justin Langford layup and led 21-16 following a David Baety layup and Langford pair of free throws.

That was all the success Southern Virginia would experience during the night as the Bobcats quickly tied it back up at 23 after a three-pointer and eventually grabbed a 33-23 halftime lead to squeeze any momentum the Knights had assembled.

The Bobcat advantage ballooned to 32 points late in the second half as Southern Virginia could not pick any momentum to make a run. Freshman center Cale Thornton came off the bench and contributed valuable minutes in the latter half, scoring 13 points in 15 minutes by going 6-8 from the field, including a monster dunk and-one in the closing moments.

Frostburg finished the night on 47 percent shooting (30-63) while the Knights managed 38 percent (23-60). The Bobcats also made eight three-pointers on the night while Southern Virginia went 0-8 from beyond the arc.  The Knights also committed 24 turnovers that led to 29 Bobcat points.

The Bobcats were led by Tyler Michael, who scored 20 points on 8-13 shooting and converted four of eight three-pointers. Jerel Carter and Jabari Kamau each tallied 12 points.

Southern Virginia next travels to Wesley College for a CAC matchup in Dover, Delaware Saturday at 3 p.m.