NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Southern Virginia University men's basketball team concluded its 2019-20 regular season Wednesday night at Christopher Newport University, falling 84-66 inside the Freeman Center.

Freshman Ricky Stafford led the Knights (1-24, 0-10 CAC) in scoring with a game-high 18 points while pulling down four rebounds. Sam Armstrong reached double-figures in scoring with 11 points and added three rebounds. Trey Dill led the team with nine boards to go along with nine points. George Howe and Calvin Seamons led the bench scoring with six points each. Dalon McHugh led the Captains (20-5, 9-1 CAC) with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists.

In the opening three minutes of play, the Knights led 8-5 before the Captains generated a 14-5 run to lead 19-13 with 12:19 remaining in the half. Southern Virginia cut the game to a single possession after consecutive baskets making the score 19-17, but CNU put together another strong 17-4 run over the next 6:30 to hold a 36-21 lead. The Captains maintained a 15-point lead over the next several minutes leading at the half 42-27.

Armstong led the Knights at the break with nine points while McHugh guided the Captains with 10. The Knights shot 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from the field and 41. 7 percent (5-for-12) from three while CNU managed to go 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from the trifecta.

In the second half, the Knights struggled to cut into the deficit trailing by as many as 26 points, 64-38 with 12:14 left. Southern Virginia then capped off an impressive 18-4 run over the next eight minutes to get within 12 points, 68-56. After several buckets by both teams, the Knights trailed by 11, 71-60, but the Captains withstood the run and finished the game on a 13-6 run to secure the 84-66 win.

For the game, CNU outshot the Knights from the field 56.9 percent (33-for-58) to 41.1 percent (23-for-56) while Southern Virginia edged the Captains from behind the arc 37 percent (10-for-27) to 35 percent (10-for-28). The Knights slightly outrebounded the Captains on the boards 33-32 while CNU held the advantage in points off turnovers (25-18), points in the paint (42-16), and bench scoring (28-19).

Southern Virginia will now head into the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Tournament as the No. 6 seed and will play on the road at No. 3 seed Mary Washington on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.