Graduate student Jaden Ignacio led four Mary Baldwin players into double-figures with a team-leading 13 points, but the Fighting Squirrels rallied to within five points several times in the second half before losing a USA South Athletic Conference men's basketball showdown Wednesday vs. Southern Virginia, 74-61.

Joining Ignacio in double figures were graduate student Quintin Hart and juniors Raymond Benton and Zach Sloan, all with 11 points.  Benton (eight) and Ignacio (seven) were the team MBU's top rebounders.

SVU (16-3, 7-1 USA South), which sits atop the USA South standings, also had four players in double figures in the scoring column, led by DJ Green (20 points) and Tyler Kartchner (19 pts.).  

The teams traded leads in the first half before the visitors pulled away late with a 15-7 run for a 39-29 halftime advantage.  MBU battled back, cutting the deficit to three points (47-44) on an Ignacio bucket with 14 minutes left.  The Knights scored the next nine points and the Fighting Squirrels were unable to get within seven points the rest of the way.

MBU (10-8, 5-3 USA South) returns to action Saturday with a conference showdown at Brevard Saturday (2 p.m.), followed by a non-conference matchup Tuesday (2/4, 6 p.m.) at the PAC.