BUENA VISTA, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team traveled to Southern Virginia on Saturday to face the Knights. The WildCats rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half but the Knights were too much in the end as they came out on top 83-73.

Randolph led 10-8 at the 15:50 mark of the first half but SVU would use a 10-1 run to take an 18-11 lead with 12:43 showing on the game clock. The 'Cats would quickly cut their deficit to two points, but Southern Virginia pushed ahead with a six-point burst to go ahead 24-16 at 8:23. Trailing 30-24 with 4:12 left in the half, Randolph closed to within one point, 30-29 at 2:42. The score would be 35-31 in SVU's favor at halftime.

In the second half, it was still a four-point game, 40-36, with just under 18 minutes remaining. The Knights then went on their big 15-4 run that spanned nearly five minutes of game time to lead 55-40 with 12:47 on the clock. With the score at 59-45 in SVU's favor, the WildCats swung the lead back to their favor as an 18-2 run gave then their first lead 63-61, since early in the first half. The Knights quickly got the lead back with a 7-0 run to go ahead 68-53 with just over four minutes remaining in regulation. Randolph cut it down to one point following a pair of free throws by Viktor Parson (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) with 2:21 left to play. The Knights brought their lead up to eight points, 79-71, with 33 seconds remaining. The WildCats were able to make it a two-possession contest with 31 ticks left but could not get any closer as SVU converted four free throws in the final 27 seconds to pull away in the end.

Randolph shot 23-of-65 (35.4%) overall in the game but just 6-of-24 (25%) from behind the three-point arc. The WildCats had advantages in points off turnovers 22-15 and in bench points 27-10. The Knights led in rebounds 39-37.

Amari Gorham (Yorktown, Va./Yorktown) led the WIldCats with a season-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds and had three steals. Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) added 14 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Evan Wiehe (Cleveland, OH/Nordonia) finished with 11 points. Elijah Cox (Galax, Va./Carroll County) chipped in 10 points.

Randolph will hit the court again on Tuesday as they will face Nazareth College. The game will take place at the University of Lynchburg's Turner Gym as part of the Wayne Proffitt Classic. Game time will be at 4:00 p.m.