Lynchburg, VA — The Southern Virginia University men's basketball team went on the road to face Randolph College and came away with an impressive 95–87 win, using a dominant final stretch to pull away from the Wildcats.
The Knights opened the game red hot, jumping ahead 11–6 behind an early scoring burst from Hyrum McConkie and DJ Green, who combined for the team's first 11 points. The first half became a battle of runs, featuring nine lead changes. Despite Randolph pushing ahead 22–17 at one point, the Knights answered with crucial threes from Mason Hunter and Matthew Hale to reclaim the lead.
However, the final two minutes of the half favored the Wildcats, who capitalized on turnovers to take a 38–37 edge into the break. Randolph outscored the Knights 14–7 in points off turnovers during the half, despite both teams shooting evenly from the field.
The second half opened with both offenses trading blows. Tillman Johnson attacked early, and Green continued facilitating, but Randolph maintained a slim advantage. Ashton Davis provided a spark inside, converting an and-one to bring the Knights within one, and Johnson soon gave Southern Virginia a 57–56 lead.
Randolph then mounted an 11–2 run to go back on top, but the Knights refused to fold. Hale buried another deep three, and Jude Ballstaedt followed with one of his own to make it 71–67 with seven minutes left. Out of a timeout, Johnson converted a tough layup through contact, and Green scored back-to-back buckets to reclaim the lead, 75–71.
Randolph responded quickly, tying the game at 77–77, but Ballstaedt and Johnson struck again, giving the Knights an 82–79 cushion with three minutes remaining. From there, Southern Virginia took full control.
Johnson buried a jumper to reach 21 points, Green matched him with his own layup, and Davis delivered a thunderous dunk off a Ballstaedt assist to stretch the lead to six. Green then came up with a clutch steal that led to a Ballstaedt layup, making it 91–83 with just over a minute left.
Ballstaedt calmly sank two free throws, McConkie secured his double-double with a key rebound, and Green iced the game at the line. The Knights closed out a strong road victory, 95–87.
Green led all scorers with 24 points, while Johnson added 21 points, nine rebounds, and a team-high three steals. McConkie continued his standout season with his second double-double, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds on 6–11 shooting.
Davis delivered a huge performance off the bench, scoring 14 points with six rebounds and a block. Ballstaedt rounded out the scoring leaders with 11 points, going 3–4 from the field and adding five assists.
Southern Virginia's sharpshooting made the difference—they hit 47.4% from three (9–19)—and they dominated the defensive glass with 29 defensive rebounds compared to Randolph's 17.
The Knights return home for the first-ever matchup against Regent University on Wednesday, December 17th at 6:00 PM.
For all the latest updates on Southern Virginia University men's basketball, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_mbb on Instagram.
