RALEIGH, NC. — The Southern Virginia University men's basketball team earned their first conference victory in the USA South Athletic Conference Saturday afternoon, fighting off William Peace 77-60. 

"We played great together today as a team and beat a really good opponent on the road," said head coach Adam Wardenburg. "We moved the ball really well offensively and attacked the rim all game long. We outscored them in the paint 38-16 which I was really proud of. We knew we were going to get layups all game long and it showed. Where we really played well today was on the defensive end. We forced 19 turnovers and scored 19 points off of those turnovers. We put them in a lot of spots that they weren't comfortable in and we finished every possession with all 5 guys rebounding. We talked all week long about making winning plays and we did that today. Multiple guys were diving on the floor, going for every loose ball, our guys were flying around defensively with active hands, getting our hands on lots of passes and we played really well together."

Notable Stats

Elliot Spencer: Career-high and game-high 23 points | five rebounds | three steals

Malakai Olson: 18 points | five rebounds | two assists

Game Notes

• Elliot Spencer and Malakai Olson took charge of the first half of play, each contributing 13 points, and three rebounds
• Conner Marchant got into the mix, dropping seven points and three rebounds, while Jesse Barker matched Marchant with seven points
• After the first half of play, the Knights shot 48.5 percent from the field while shooting 66.7 percent from three
• Southern Virginia controlled the boards in the first half, outrebounding their opponent 14-13, holding the 43-32 advantage heading into halftime
• Elliot Spencer continued his dominance in the second half, adding ten more points to his total along with two rebounds
• Coming off the bench Scottie Ziegner got things going, dropping eight second-half points while recording three rebounds
• The Knights consistent play locked in the 77-60 victory
• Southern Virginia outshot William Peace 47.5%-26.2% from the field while controlling the three-point game 50%-23.7%
• The Knights dominated the paint, outscoring the Pacers 38-16

Southern Virginia continues its season, taking on Pfeiffer on Saturday, January 22. Game time is scheduled for 7 pm. 

Follow @knight_hoops on Instagram for more updates and details about the team.