WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Virginia University men's basketball team concluded its non-conference slate after splitting games at the Holiday Classic this week, defeating Mount Aloysius College on Tuesday, but falling to host Catholic University on Wednesday. The Knights 7-4 record in non-conference play is the best since becoming a member of the NCAA Division III.

"Overall it was disappointing coming away with one loss, but we played two really good teams," stated head coach Adam Wardenburg. "We learned how tough we are, pushed through some adversity and really played connected as a team."

Game one:

The Knights jumped out to an early 12-2 advantage on Tuesday evening, but the Mounties used a 14-2 run of their own to take the lead. The teams continued to battle through the remainder of the first half, with the lead changing five more times in the opening stanza. A Canyon Carlson layup with just over a minute remaining in the first half would give Southern Virginia a one point led heading into the break.

The back-and-forth continued in the second 20 minutes, with the lead changing seven more times before a surge in the final minutes of play would propel the Knights to a convincing victory. With 4:37 remaining in the contest, Southern Virginia went on a dominant 20-1 run while only missing one field goal attempt and one from the free throw line. Shaun Kenedy guided the late run, scoring 15 of his game-high 30 points in the final five minutes. Kenedy shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 12-13 shots from the charity stripe in his second 30-point outing of the year.

Southern Virginia was able to capitalize on Mount Aloysius mistakes, scoring a season-high 33 points off 27 Mounties turnovers, 10 of which came off steals – also a season-high. The Knights also owned the paint, scoring 16 more points in the paint than the Mounties.

Koa Baker and Malakai Olson both reached double digits with 18 and 13 points respectively, while the Mounties were led by Will Hagwood who recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.

"We really struggled offensively," continued coach Wardenburg. "We played connected and really shared the ball but our shots were not falling. What helped us win was how good we were defensively. We stuck to the game plan, stopped them in transition and kept them out of the paint."

Game two:

Catholic's prolific shooting from beyond the arch in the first half led to a 15-point deficit for Southern Virginia heading into halftime. The Cardinals made eight of their first 11 three-pointers and closed out the half shooting over 64 percent (9-14) from deep, led by Sean Neylon who knocked down four of his first five three-point attempts to accumulate 14 points in the first 14 minutes of play.

Both teams would cool off in the second 20 minutes of play after hovering around 50 percent from the field in the first half. The Knights would quickly cut the deficit down to 10 following a Shaun Kenedy layup and an Abe Connolly three-pointer to begin the second stanza, but the Cardinals would battle back and stretch the advantage to 18 with under 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

Southern Virginia would not go away without a fight, going on a 9-2 run over the next two and a half minutes to make it an 11-point game with just over seven minutes in the second half. Neither team would find the bottom of the net over the next three-plus minutes.

Jamarcus Robertson and Abe Connolly would make back-to-back layups to cut the Catholic lead to just five points with 37 seconds remaining. The Knights comeback was denied by perfect free throw shooting by the Cardinals who knocked down eight attempts from the charity stripe in the final 26 seconds of play to close out the game and improve to 11-0, the best record since the 2011-12 campaign.

"The game was a tale of two halves," exclaimed Wardenburg. "We really struggled on both ends of the floor in the first half, but really showed our toughness and fight in the second half. We came out and shot 24 free throws and flipped the rebounding margin from -3 to +9. We aren't happy with the result, but I am very happy with the grit and resilience of this team."

Up next:

The Knights will begin league play after the holiday break when the Battling Bishops of NC Wesleyan travel to Buena Vista on Wednesday, January 4.

For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University men's basketball, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_hoops on Instagram.