BUENA VISTA, Va. – After three losses at home to open conference play, the Southern Virginia University men's basketball team (10-8, 3-4) took down visiting Methodist (0-17, 0-6) in convincing fashion, 78-58.

"It felt great to be able to get back in the win column," declared Shaun Kenedy. "We needed that win and it felt great, now we have to use this victory to start a win streak going forward."

The Monarchs got the scoring started with a floater by Montell Moore to give the team its first and only lead of the half.

Throughout most of the first half the teams traded baskets with neither squad able to take control. Both sides got major boosts off the bench with Methodist scoring 12 and Dane Ibsen recording all 11 points off Southern Virginia's bench, knocking down three of four attempts from beyond the arc.

The Knights earned their largest lead of the first stanza after Malakai Olson grabbed a rebound, beat the defense down the court and scored a fast break layup to make the score 26-20 with 4:34 remaining on the clock.

As time expired Derrion Hicklen drove the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup to cut the deficit to three.

The first 10 minutes of the second half were very similar to the first with the sides trading baskets. The Monarchs did just enough to hang around and made it difficult for the Knights to pull away until a Shaun Kenedy basket in the paint sparked an 11-point run, the largest of the contest, to increase the advantage to 18 points.

Kenedy, who was held to six points in the first stanza, scored a game-high 19 points on 45 percent shooting. "We just played team basketball and it was refreshing to get good looks and finish them," exclaimed Kenedy who was held to just five points last time out against Mary Baldwin.

A Koa Baker steal led to an Olson dunk that put an exclamation point on the game and capped off an excellent overall team performance.

Baker had one of his most all-around outings since joining the team this season. The Freshman recorded his 11^th double-double with 11 points and a season-high 15 rebounds while also adding four assists and a season-high four steals.  "I'm happy to contribute in any way I can," stated Baker. "I just try to do my job and play hard for my teammates because they deserve my best every game. I've been battling some injuries so to come out and play like that is a blessing and I got to give a lot of credit to our trainer Forrest for the recovery process so I can come out and play like that."

After an 11 point first half, Ibsen added five more points in the second 20 minutes of play for a season-high 16 points, shooting 66 percent from the field. "Today our ball movement was so much better than the past few games where it was getting too 'sticky'," said the Senior who also added seven rebounds. "We have so many offensive threats that once the ball starts zipping around like that the defense goes to panic mode. Shoutout to JMac and Shaun for finding me in open spots to knock down threes. Those guys are the reason I'm shooting so efficiently."

The team as a whole shot an impressive 55.17 percent from the field in the second half of play, including 44.4 percent from downtown, leading the Knights to outscore the Monarchs 49-32 in the second stanza. "We played to the coach's game plan in the second half and it made all the difference," mentioned Kenedy.

Sticking to Coach Wardenburg's game plan also helped the Knights clean up their play. After 13 first half turnovers, the team gave away possession just three times in the second half, the fewest of any half up to this point.

Southern Virginia also outrebounded Methodist by 19 which is the largest margin of the season. 14 of the teams 43 rebounds came on the offensive glass, leading to 20 second chance points compared to just seven for the Monarchs.

When asked about getting his first USA South victory at home Ibsen expressed, "having the fans back in the barn felt so good! This home win was a huge energy boost for our entire program."

"A conference win at home is huge for us," added Baker. "We needed this one to start building some momentum moving forward. Winning at home is especially important during conference so to get this one was big time. We have to protect our house the rest of the season!"

With the victory the Knights move to fifth in the conference standings, just half a game behind the Pride of Greensboro. The team now has a week to prepare for the second matchup of the season against second ranked NC Wesleyan. After falling by just one point at home, the Knights will look to get revenge against the Battling Bishops.

"This week will be important for me personally," revealed Baker. "I'll practically be living in the training room this next week! I got to lock in for the recovery process so I can keep recovering. Thankfully we got the best trainer, Forrest, in the business so he'll take good care of us to prepare for next week's game!"

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