DANVILLE, Va. – The Southern Virginia University men's basketball team drops to 2-2 after falling to Averett Saturday afternoon.

This was the fourth overall meeting between the teams since the Knights joined the NCAA with the other three occurring last season. The two regular season matchups were split with the away team coming away with the victory on both occasions. The final meeting took place in the USA South conference tournament quarterfinal with the Cougars eliminating the Knights and ending their season. Averett would go on to win the conference tournament, earning a spot in the NCAA tournament in its last year as a member of the USA South.

Southern Virginia jumped out to an early lead on Saturday, scoring the first six points of the contest. Averett would settle into the game and go on an 18-5 run with six points from both Jamael Carter Jr. and Bryson McLaughlin, forcing a timeout from head coach Adam Wardenburg.

After the timeout, the Knights would score the next 13 points to retake the lead. Continuing with the trend of the game, the Cougars would go on a 9-0 run of their own to take a 27-24 advantage.

The first 20 minutes would end with Averett taking a 32-31 lead into halftime.

After the break, the teams traded baskets through the first five minutes of the second stanza. The Knights, following a Jamarcus Robertson three pointer, would claim the largest lead by either team in the second half, seven points, with 11:59 on the clock.

Encouraged by the home crowd, Averett would go on an 8-1 run over the next two and a half minutes to knot the score at 49.

With the score all square at 55, Jamael Carter Jr., who had a team-high 17 points, knocked down a three. Following the basket, Averett forced a turnover and would score a fast break layup to push its advantage to five with under four minutes remaining.

Malakai Olson would convert on back-to-back possessions for the Knights to score four of his game-high 18 points, but a Jason Sellars II layup kept the Cougars up three as the clock ticked below two minutes remaining in the game.

Southern Virginia was given one last opportunity after a defensive stop in the final offensive possession for Averett. After a timeout, Abe Connolly got a good look at a shot behind the arc that would have tied the game but it was just off the mark.

"I was very proud of our team today," stated coach Adam Wardenburg after the game. "Averett is a very good, physical team and we battled for 40 minutes. We need to do a better job on the defensive glass, we can't give up 17 offensive rebounds on the road and expect to get a win. We will learn from our mistakes and be better on Tuesday. Championship teams never let one mistake or loss turn into two, and that will be our goal on Tuesday."

The Knights will now prepare for another tough non-conference opponent against cross-town foe, Washington and Lee University on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

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.