NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Southern Virginia University men's basketball team wrapped up play at the Buzz Ridl Classic Saturday afternoon, winning a double overtime thriller to finish 1-1 at the tournament.
Game one:
The Knights got the tournament underway Friday night, going up against the hosts, Westminster. The home team came out firing on all cylinders, shooting over 60% from the field and beyond the arc in the first half, leading to a 19-point advantage heading into halftime.
The Titans shooting cooled down in the second half, but they would still end the game with an outstanding 50.8 field goal percentage.
The Knights were led by newcomer, Koa Baker, who recorded a double-double with 13 points and rebounds in his first game with the team.
The lead created in the first half would prove to be too much and Southern Virginia would drop the first game of the season.
Game two:
Similar to the first game the Knights would struggle offensively in the first half, shooting just 23% and turning the ball over nine times while their opponents connected on 43.75% of their attempts. Thiel used their height advantage to get inside the paint, where they would score 18 of their 35 first half points.
Southern Virginia would not go away without a fight, clawing their way back in the second 20 minutes of play. The team was led by Shaun Kenedy who scored 15 points in the second half comeback.
Kenedy, who struggled in his first collegiate game, bounced back in a huge way, scoring a game-high 31 points. "Yesterday's game was a building block," said the freshman. "The coaches helped us see the little mistakes we needed to improve on to bounce back in the second game. They used the phrase 'great teams don't let one loss become two'. That message lit a fire and helped us get the job done today."
The game was forced into extra time after
Malakai Olson hit an incredible fadeaway buzzer beater, getting the shot off just before the clock hit zero.
The Tomcats led by as many as seven points in the first overtime period but the Knights would again storm back to force another five minutes of play after Ahmad Tejumola missed a three-pointer as time expired.
Southern Virginia got all of its points at the charity strike in the second overtime, making 11 of 14 free throw attempts, leading to an 89-85 victory.
"This was a huge win for us," continued Kenedy. "We are a very young team so for many of us this is our first collegiate win. We have been working for this for months now and finally being able to taste victory together is a great motivator moving forward."
"I thought this game proved our true character as a team," added Koa Baker. "We figured out how to buy in and play connected today. I'm really proud of our guys for showing the type of grit we know we have. We played together and we believed in each other. We are a dangerous team when we play the way we did today."
Baker, a transfer from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, finished with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. "I'll do anything it takes to help us win," continued Baker. "It really was a team effort though. I'm so proud of our guys and I really want them to know that. Everyone bought in together as a family and that is what really contributed to our win today not the doubles-doubles."
Coach's Corner:
"I was very pleased with the effort that we gave this weekend," said head coach
Adam Wardenburg. "We played two very tough teams and we learned a lot about who we are as a team."
"In our win, we played connected throughout the game. We shared the ball and didn't turn it over, and grinded out a hard-fought victory. A few things that stuck out in the win, we made more free throws than the other team attempted. This shows how aggressive we were throughout the game and the attacking mentality that we have. We also got 16 offensive rebounds in both games and only turned it over 13 times."
"We need to improve on our shooting but we will be fine, we need to continue to build our confidence and continue to believe in ourselves and our team."
Up next:
The Knights return to Buena Vista for their home opener against the Hornets of Shenandoah on Thursday, Nov. 17.
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University men's basketball, please visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_hoops on Instagram.
