BUENA VISTA, Va. – In the final home contest of the campaign, the Southern Virginia University men's basketball team (12-12, 5-8 USAS) came up just short against second-place William Peace University (18-8, 10-3 USAS), 74-67.

The Pacers opened the scoring with a bucket by Timothy Pettiford. Following the shot, the Knights' Shaun Kenedy was assessed a technical foul for a flop, and Michael Dulin converted the free throw to give his team an early 3-0 lead.

Southern Virginia would take its first lead of the afternoon after the under-16 media timeout when Tyler Kartchner hauled in an offensive rebound, and Koa Baker knocked down a shot while getting fouled. The ensuing free throw would make the score 8-6.

An Alex Weiland driving layup would cap a 10-2 run by the Knights, giving the team a 12-8 advantage. A few minutes later, a pair of free throws from Jamarcus Robertson would give Southern Virginia its largest lead of the first half, 22-14.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by William Peace on consecutive possessions cut the deficit to just two. Then, the Pacers would tie the game a couple of minutes later as they held the Knights scoreless for four-plus minutes.

The teams would trade baskets for the remainder of the opening stanza, but a Michael Dulin shot from downtown would give Peace a three-point advantage at the half.

Malakai Olson went into the break with a team-high eight points, with Baker and Kartchner following closely behind with six apiece. Baker also added an impressive eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

Beau Bryant would open the second half with back-to-back threes to give the Pacers a nine-point lead, forcing an early timeout from Head Coach Adam Wardenburg.

Southern Virginia would battle back by getting to the paint, where Baker, Karthcner, and Olson each converted on layup attempts. Then, Kenedy would add a pair of free throws, cutting the Peace lead to just one.

Just before the under-12 timeout, the Knights would tie the game at 45 after Robertson made an outstanding cross-court pass to an open Weiland, who knocked down a corner three.

The Knights would grab their first lead of the second half with just under 10 minutes of play remaining following a Baker layup.

The team would then go on a scoring drought, failing to score for five-plus minutes. The Pacers would take advantage of the opportunity, going on a 9-0 run to retake the lead with just over four minutes remaining.

William Peace connected on seven-of-eight attempts from the free throw line over the next two minutes of play to take control of the contest and give the team its largest lead.

Southern Virginia would claw its way back by playing the long game, sending Peace to the foul line, hoping for misses, and converting on the offensive end.

The Knights received some help from the Pacers as they missed two of their next three attempts from the line, allowing them to cut the deficit to six after Olson scored five points and Robertson knocked down a clutch 3-pointer.

Following another trip to the free throw line where Peace would convert only one of two attempts, Kenedy would make a layup to make it a five-point game with 25 seconds of play remaining.

William Peace would knock down its next four shots from the charity stripe to put the match out of reach and seal an important and hard-fought triumph.

The Knights would dominate the paint like yesterday's game, outscoring the Pacers 46-24. But, like Pfeiffer on Friday, Peace relied on its advantage from the three-point line, making six more attempts from beyond the arc than the home team.

In his second game back from injury, Olson again impressed again, tallying a team-high 20 points and six rebounds. Baker recorded his 13th double-double of the campaign, registering 14 points and a game-high 12 boards. Kartchner was again solid off the bench, recording 13 points and six rebounds.

The Knights will close out the regular season on the road next Saturday, Feb. 18, at Methodist, with tip-off set for 2 p.m.

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