HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Southern Virginia University men's basketball team won its fourth consecutive game Saturday afternoon to improve to 6-3 on the year.

"Today was a huge win for our season," declared head coach Adam Wardenburg. "It was our first true road win and it was against a very good Eastern Mennonite team. We are still getting better every day, and as long as we keep working hard and staying connected, we can go along ways this year."

Both teams looked to get down the floor quickly at the start of the game, leading to an exciting opening five minutes. The clubs traded baskets during the frame, but the Knights held onto the lead.

The Knights' lead would increase to 13 – the largest of the game – after exceptional play from substitutes Dane Ibsen, Tyler Kartchner, Bryan Tapia and Alex Weiland. Tapia came out red-hot, knocking down his first three attempts from beyond the arc. His nine points tied with Malakai Olson for the team high in the opening stanza.

On the other side, the Royals were led by senior Mark Burkholder who shot six of eight from the floor, including four of five from deep. His 20 points in the first half marked a new career high, which he would only add to in the second 20 minutes of play.

Burkholder's outstanding offensive performance got Eastern Mennonite back in the game, taking the lead just before the end of the half.

Koa Baker, who had limited minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, got Southern Virginia off to a great start after the break. Fighting through contact, he would open the scoring in the second half. After converting the and-one, he got a steal on the other side of the floor leading to an easy layup and a quick five points to retake the lead.

Although the Royals would continue to fight back, the Knights would not give up the lead again in the match. Shaun Kenedy, who was held to just two baskets in the first half, scored 21 in the second for a team-high 25 total points. Kenedy looked to attack the Royals' zone defense and continually got to the basket.

"In the first half they went into a 2-3 zone and I was not as aggressive attacking the zone as I could have been," stated Kenedy. "I knew I could be more effective and my coaches and teammates helped me see what I could do differently against the zone in the second half."

The freshman from Cary, North Carolina also pulled down 11 boards on the afternoon, recording the first double-double of his career. "It's great that I could help our team in that aspect, but I think everyone is more focused on carrying this win forward into our next two games in Washington D.C.," continued Kenedy.

Southern Virginia pulled away in the closing minutes of the game, knocking down five of six attempts from the charity stripe and limiting Eastern Mennonite to just two points in the final 3:30.

"In the second half we really wanted to come out and be more aggressive," added coach Wardenburg. "I thought we passed up a lot of good looks in the first half because we were playing passive. We challenged our guys, especially Shaun as the lead guard, to get to the rim and make plays. The 24 second half free throws show how aggressive we wanted to be."

Southern Virginia's aggressiveness also extended to the other end of the floor where it held Eastern Mennonite to 30 points on just 30 percent shooting from the field. The Knights dominated the glass as well, out-rebounding the Royals 44-30. Apart from Kenedy, who led the team with 11 boards, Dane Ibsen also had a season-high in rebounds with eight.

"Out-rebounding a team by 14 is a huge advantage," said Wardenburg. "It gives us 14 more opportunities to score the basketball. It is a huge indicator of how tough we are as well. And it's another game that we made more free throws than the other team attempted."

Malakai Olson, who also celebrated his birthday on Saturday, had another solid outing, scoring 16 points and adding six rebounds. "I think today we stepped up as a collective group and were able to withstand their run while still holding it together on both ends of the floor," exclaimed Olson. "We also got a lot of energy from our bench and the people coming off the bench as well."

The Knights will travel to Washington D.C. to take part in the Catholic Basketball Invitational at the beginning of next week. Play begins Tuesday evening as the team takes on Mount Aloysius at 6 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.